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

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 slideshow”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Image Slider Slideshow shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smart Slider 3 places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1125 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★ (743) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Slideshow Gallery LITE 5K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Responsive Slideshow – Photo Carousel 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #10 ↓4 5 too low 6 Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 Slideshow SE 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #21 ↑2 10 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 Responsive Slider Gallery – Responsive Image Photo Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too high 20 Photo Gallery Slideshow & Masonry Tiled Gallery 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #9 ↑1 11 too high 21 Dessky Responsive Slider 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Responsive Logo Slideshow 60+ · 2.9★ (7) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Image Slider Slideshow 2K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 15 too high 24 Full Width Banner Slider Wp 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓3 5 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.