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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slick tab”

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 “slick tab”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Gutentools shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ 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

Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 676 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Logo Showcase – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Slider & Logo Grid 5K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Slick Popup: Contact Form 7 Popup Plugin 1K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #4 5 Gutentor – Gutenberg Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor 30K+ · 4.6★ (90) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) 30K+ · 4.6★ (676) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Simple Slider Block – Create Sliders From Core Blocks 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 WP Directory Kit 2K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 MaxGalleria 1K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Team Builder – Team Member Showcase With Grid and slider, Compatible With Elementor, Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (29) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Gutentools 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 WEN Logo Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Image Slider Block 100+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 23 Enter Addons – Ultimate Template Builder for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 24 W3 Relations Carousel for Elementor 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.