wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slides”
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 “slides”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #1 2 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #2 3 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #3 4 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #4 5 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Slideshow Gallery LITE 5K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 
AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59)
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #17 ↓7 5 too low 13 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 
Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 
Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025)
wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 
Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #14 4 too high 19 
Responsive Slideshow – Photo Carousel 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 
Slideshow SE 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 10 too high 21 
Gutenslider — Slider Block for the Block Editor 10K+ · 4.0★ (65)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 16 too high 23 
Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 
OffCanvas / Drawer – add sleek slide-in panels to any page 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓3 6 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.