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

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 scroll”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Smooth Scrolling shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Unlimited Elements for Elementor places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 525 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MouseWheel Smooth Scroll 90K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #1 2 jQuery Smooth Scroll 10K+ · 4.5★ (47) wp.org #2 3 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #12 ↑4 6 too low 7 S Surbma | Smooth Scroll 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too high 8 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 Smooth Page Scroll Up/Down Buttons 2K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 F Fast Smooth Scroll 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Simple Scroll To Top WP 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Hash Link Scroll Offset 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Smooth scrolling with Lenis 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Scrollsequence – Cinematic Scroll Image Animation Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too low 16 Smooth Scrolling 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #22 ↓3 5 too low 18 Scroll Top | HR Scroll Top 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 NS Smooth Scroll Back to Top 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 UiCore Animate – Free Animations, Transitions, and Interactions Addon for Elementor & Gutenberg blocks 40K+ · 3.2★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Top-Down Scroll – Customizable Scroll to Top Button 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Scroll To Top 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 Better Smooth Scroll 10+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.