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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “widget rotator”

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 “widget rotator”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Ultra Addons Lite for Elementor shows at wp.org #3 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Slider by 10Web – Responsive Image Slider places #9 on merit, 4.5★ from 289 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 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Easy Testimonial Slider and Form 700+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Stars Testimonials — Responsive Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too low 5 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 AdPlugg WordPress Ad Plugin 400+ · 4.4★ (36) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 SmartText Rotator – Add Motion to Your Words 1K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Slider by 10Web – Responsive Image Slider 10K+ · 4.5★ (289) wp.org #24 15 too low 10 Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Ultra Addons Lite for Elementor 700+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 WPBITS Addons For Elementor Page Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 IssueM 600+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Random Image Block for Block Editor 100+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Easy Rotator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 W Wbcom Designs – WB Ad Manager 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 Smart Ad Engine with Report 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Pixels Core Creative Tools for Elementor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Ad Fuz – AI Ad Manager, Ad Inserter, Popup Ads & Banner Rotator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 SanirTech Lead Chat Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 FlexiWords 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 DinoPack for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 WP URLs Shortener + Social icons [Official] 10+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.