Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visual effects”

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 “visual effects”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor shows at wp.org #14 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #3 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #4 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too low 14 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #24 ↓8 7 too low 18 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 Image Hover Effects For WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓5 4 too high 22 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.