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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “text scroller”

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 “text scroller”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow shows at wp.org #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 500+ 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

Zotpress places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 66 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Vertical News Scroller 5K+ · 4.3★ (17) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #4 5 T4B News Ticker – Responsive News Scroller, Slider, and Animations 7K+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Exclusive Addons for Elementor 50K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 LandTech Extras for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 B Brand Logos Scroller 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 MarqueeX – Smooth Marquee Slider, News Ticker & Post Marquee for Block Editor & Elementor 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19 Apollo13 Framework Extensions 20K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 AI Story Maker 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 seljeVisitorsFlags 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Craft Addons for WPBakery Page Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Topper Pack 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Content text slider on post 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.