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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ultimate showcase”

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 “ultimate showcase”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Ultimate Carousel For Divi shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 216 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 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Logo Showcase Ultimate – Logo Carousel, Logo Slider & Logo Grid 2K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #2 ↓1 5 too high 8 Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #9 10 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #22 ↑2 11 too low 12 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Product Carousel Slider & Grid Ultimate for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Ultimate Store Kit – Store Builder Addons for Elementor, WooCommerce Store Builder, EDD Store Builder 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 RS WP Book Showcase – A Complete Book Catalogue & Library System 1K+ · 3.9★ (25) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Slider Ultimate 500+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Ultimate Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Under Construction – Gutenberg Block Builder & Landing Page 9K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Post Grid, Slider & Carousel Ultimate – with Shortcode, Gutenberg Block & Elementor Widget 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Portfolio Gallery – Ultimate Portfolio, Filterable Grid & Image Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 20 Enter Addons – Ultimate Template Builder for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Flipbox Addon for Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Ultimate Carousel For Divi 700+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too high 23 Ultimate Bootstrap Elements for Elementor 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Ultimate Logo Slider & Carousel – Logo Showcase & Gallery 80+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.