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

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 transitions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

PageFluent – Smooth Page Transitions & Loader shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20+ 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

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 View Transitions 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #1 2 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (589) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Video Conferencing with Zoom 10K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #6 7 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 200K+ · 4.9★ (213) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Smooth Scrolling 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 UiCore Animate – Free Animations, Transitions, and Interactions Addon for Elementor & Gutenberg blocks 40K+ · 3.2★ (10) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (503) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (488) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 To Top 60K+ · 4.8★ (54) wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 Slider Block by Sliderberg – WordPress Slider & Carousel Plugin for Gutenberg 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 TP Product Image Flipper for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too low 15 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Tab Ultimate 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Spider Elements – Premium Elementor Widgets & Addons Library 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Product Image and Video Gallery Slider for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 PageFluent – Smooth Page Transitions & Loader 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Gutenify Mega Menu 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 WPC Product Image Swap for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery 3K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.