wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slide box”
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 “slide box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 400+ 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
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 576 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #13 5 too low 9 
Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
HollerBox — Fast & Effective Popups & Lead-Generation 2K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Boxzilla – WordPress Popup Builder 20K+ · 4.8★ (133)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (576)
wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 
Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025)
wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59)
wp.org #15 16 
Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146)
wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100)
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 
Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 18 too high 22 
Scroll Triggered Box / Slide Box 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviewsstale but ranked
wp.org #8 14 too high 23 
ConvertForce: Popup, Notification Bar & Slide-in Builder 100+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
OffCanvas / Drawer – add sleek slide-in panels to any page 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #11 13 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.