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

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 stories”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Timeline – Tell Your Story Through Events and Milestones shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 502 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #1 2 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #4 ↑3 2 too low 3 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 ↑3 6 too low 10 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Audio Story Images 400+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 Before After Image Comparison – Visual Comparison for Two Images 3K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 MakeStories (for Google Web Stories) 600+ · 4.3★ (28) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Timeline – Tell Your Story Through Events and Milestones 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Vertical Timeline Widget for Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 ImageLinks – Interactive Image Builder with Hotspots 1K+ · 3.9★ (9) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓2 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.