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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “testimonials jquery”

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 “testimonials jquery”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Easy Testimonial Blocks – Testimonial Grid, Customer Reviews & Star Ratings shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 134 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 Strong Testimonials 80K+ · 4.8★ (614) wp.org #1 2 BNE Testimonials 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #2 3 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #3 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Stars Testimonials — Responsive Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 T Testimonial Slider 3K+ · 4.2★ (69) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #13 ↑6 4 too low 10 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #20 ↓7 8 too low 13 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 HT Mega Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets & Template Builder 60K+ · 4.1★ (66) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Easy Testimonial Slider and Form 700+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Easy Testimonial Blocks – Testimonial Grid, Customer Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 11 too high 20 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 S SpiceBox 20K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Advanced Testimonial 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑9 8 too high 23 Gutena Testimonial Slider 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓5 4 too high 24 Auto Scrolling Testimonials 10+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 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.