Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rotating”

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 “rotating”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Rotating Hero Image shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Qi Addons For Elementor places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #2 3 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #8 ↑8 3 too low 6 Username Changer 40K+ · 4.3★ (77) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #17 ↑1 9 too low 9 Random Content 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 BNE Testimonials 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #7 ↑1 5 too high 13 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Ultimate Store Kit – Store Builder Addons for Elementor, WooCommerce Store Builder, EDD Store Builder 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Testimonial – Build Trust with Rotating Customer Stories 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 SmartText Rotator – Add Motion to Your Words 1K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Ad Commander – Ad Manager for Banners, AdSense, Ad Networks 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 DWL Preloader 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 No Cache AJAX Widgets 200+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #23 24 Rotating Hero Image 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 14 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.