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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “smooth cursor”

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 “smooth cursor”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 19 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

CursorFlex – Stylish Cursor Effects for WordPress shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 10+ 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

Unlimited Elements for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Smooth Custom Cursor 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Ultimate Cursor – Interactive and Animated Custom Cursor and Background Effects Toolkit 3K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 Cursor Style & Animation 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Elements Hive for Breakdance 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Sky Addons for Elementor – 160+ Widgets, GSAP Animations, Templates & Theme Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 AI Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – WPBean 1K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #19 20 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Interactive World Map 900+ · 3.5★ (17) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 CursorFlex – Stylish Cursor Effects for WordPress 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 PageFluent – Smooth Page Transitions & Loader 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.