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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sliders”

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 “sliders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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

Weaver Show Sliders shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 434 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #1 2 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #2 3 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #3 4 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #7 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too low 11 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #19 ↓3 8 too low 12 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025) wp.org #23 ↓3 10 too low 14 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #13 ↓4 2 too high 16 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #20 ↓9 3 too low 18 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too low 22 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too high 23 Weaver Show Sliders 900+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓2 15 too high 24 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) 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.