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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “snow effect”

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 “snow effect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 2 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

Festival Snow Effect shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits places #5 on merit, 4.5★ from 212 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Snow Effect 1K+ · 4.9★ (390) wp.org #1 2 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too low 4 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 S Snow Fall 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Rs Christmas Trees – Holiday Decorations, Christmas Garlands & Falling Snow Effect 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 DevVN Snow 60+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Christmas Snow 3D – Snowfalling, Snowflake Effect and Christmas mood 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Lucky Wheel for WooCommerce – Spin a Sale 1K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑3 7 too low 13 Festival Snow Effect 60+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 DB Falling Snowflakes 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 WpXmas Snow 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Setup Default Featured Image 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 Christmas Snow – Festive Snowfall Effect 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑10 5 too high 19 Rs Christmas Santa – Snowfall, Christmas Lights, Holiday Music, Flying Sleigh & Countdown 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 W Winter Snow Effect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 Init FX Engine – Interactive, Event-Driven, Lightweight 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Auto Location for WP Job Manager 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Seasonal Effects & Notice Bar (formerly Halloween Animations) 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.