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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive slider”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “responsive slider”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Serious Slider shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider places #11 on merit, 4.3★ from 406 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #1 2 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #2 3 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #3 4 Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #9 ↑12 10 Responsive Slider Gallery – Responsive Image Photo Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Responsive Thumbnail Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 Responsive Slideshow – Photo Carousel 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #17 18 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #18 ↓6 19 Logo Slider WP – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery & Logo Showcase 10K+ · 4.5★ (61) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #20 ↓11 21 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 T Testimonial Slider 3K+ · 4.2★ (69) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑1 10 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.