wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sortable slider”

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 “sortable slider”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Xtreme Slider (3D Image Slider) shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP-Sweep places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too low 4

Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #13 ↑2 8 too low 6

Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Ultimate Maps by Supsystic – OpenStreetMap, Leaflet & Mapbox, No API Key 10K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8

Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #1 7 too high 9

Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10

GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Accordions 20K+ · 4.5★ (90) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #21 9 too low 13

Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #19 ↓6 6 too low 14

Post Grid, Slider & Carousel Ultimate – with Shortcode, Gutenberg Block & Elementor Widget 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15

Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce – Bayna 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

MaxSlider 6K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #14 3 too high 18

Ultimate Store Kit – Store Builder Addons for Elementor, WooCommerce Store Builder, EDD Store Builder 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #11 8 too high 20

Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21

Xtreme Slider (3D Image Slider) 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 16 too high 22

Turbo Addons Elementor 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23

wpDataTables integration for Forminator Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

Gum Addon for Elementor 50K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.