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

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 header”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Ad Commander – Ad Manager for Banners, AdSense, Ad Networks shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #2 3 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #3 4 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #4 5 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Random Content 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Sky Addons for Elementor – 160+ Widgets, GSAP Animations, Templates & Theme Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 BEW – Elementor Addons, Templates & AI Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Magical Shop Builder – WooCommerce Template Builder for Elementor | Shop, Cart, Checkout & Product Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Ad Commander – Ad Manager for Banners, AdSense, Ad Networks 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Random Image Block for Block Editor 90+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #24

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.