wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp scroll plugin”
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 “wp scroll plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Catch Infinite Scroll shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 21 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1966 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.
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #1 2 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #2 3 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225)
wp.org #3 4 
WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142)
wp.org #4 5 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #5 6 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #13 4 too low 10 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966)
wp.org #18 8 too low 11 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
MouseWheel Smooth Scroll 90K+ · 4.5★ (44)
wp.org #7 6 too high 14 
WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222)
wp.org #14 15 
WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122)
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Catch Infinite Scroll 10K+ · 4.3★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 
Simple Scroll To Top WP 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
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.