wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “scroll line”
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 “scroll line”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Top-Down Scroll – Customizable Scroll to Top Button shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #1 2 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #2 3 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #3 4 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) heavy footprint
wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 
My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199)
wp.org #16 10 too low 7 
Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #19 ↑3 11 too low 9 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 
HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too high 11 
AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑16 4 too high 12 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #14 15 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17 
Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 6 too high 18 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #22 ↓5 4 too low 19 
YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #15 ↓5 4 too high 20 
Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66)
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
SmartParallax – Parallax Scroll Effects & Scroll Animations 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 Top-Down Scroll – Customizable Scroll to Top Button 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑1 17 too high 24 
Animatikon – Scroll Animations & Motion Effects 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.