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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “timeline builder”

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 “timeline builder”, 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

Bold Timeline Lite shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1388 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 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #1 2 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #2 3 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #11 ↑4 7 too low 5 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #16 ↓2 10 too low 7 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Timeline Module for Beaver Builder 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 PowerPack Lite for Beaver Builder 6K+ · 5.0★ (243) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Vertical Timeline Widget for Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Advanced Timeline Block 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 ↑3 8 too high 22 ChargeWP Timeline Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 Bold Timeline Lite 10K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 15 too high 24 Animation Builder – An interface for adding scroll-triggered animations 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.