wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slides shortcode”
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 shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
OffCanvas / Drawer – add sleek slide-in panels to any page shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 900+ 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
Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 504 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #2 3 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #3 4 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #4 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370)
wp.org #7 8 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #12 ↓3 3 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 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 
Slideshow Gallery LITE 5K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 
DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194)
wp.org #16 ↓4 17 
Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43)
wp.org #10 7 too high 18 
Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252)
wp.org #18 ↓1 19 
Boxzilla – WordPress Popup Builder 20K+ · 4.8★ (133)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #24 ↓10 4 too low 21 
MaxSlider 6K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 
Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 24 OffCanvas / Drawer – add sleek slide-in panels to any page 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.