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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “touch devices”

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 “touch devices”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

Touch Slider for Elementor shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Backup Migration places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1338 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 B Before After Image Comparison Slider for Elementor 10K+ · 4.4★ (96) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #18 ↑3 10 too low 9 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Real Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Collect Customer Reviews and Video Testimonials 40K+ · 4.7★ (226) wp.org #16 ↓8 4 too low 13 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 F Favicon Rotator 20K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 WPC Smart Compare for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 WP ImageViewer 700+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #14 ↑3 6 too high 21 Axeptio – Cookie Banner – GDPR Consent & Compliance with a friendly touch 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Touch Slider for Elementor 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 19 too high 24 Smooth Custom Cursor 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 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.