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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple fade”

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 “simple fade”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Simple Block Animations shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 20+ 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

Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 348 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 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #1 2 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #3 4 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #21 ↓1 12 too low 10 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Additional Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (162) wp.org #12 ↓3 13 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #11 ↓5 2 too high 14 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Simple Exit Notifier 100+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #2 13 too high 16 Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 T4B News Ticker – Responsive News Scroller, Slider, and Animations 7K+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Revive.so – Bulk Rewrite and Republish Blog Posts 600+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Media Slider for Photos Images Videos 2K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Animate In View 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 S Simple Block Animations 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑2 14 too high 24 LIQUID BLOCKS – Slider, Carousel, Accordion 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑2 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.