Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “annotation”

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 “annotation”, we agree with wp.org 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

Annotix – Visual Website Feedback & Annotation shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ 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

EmbedPress places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 307 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #1 2 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #2 3 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #4 ↑3 5 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Marker.io – Visual Website Feedback 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 demon image annotation 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓5 11 Interactive Image Map Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 Simple Commenter – Website Feedback tool 200+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Hypothesis 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 15 Simple Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 too high 16 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 3D viewer by Visody 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Annotix – Visual Website Feedback & Annotation 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 10 too high 19 PDF Password Protect 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Previu – Visual Client Feedback for Elementor 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑3 8 too high 21 Image Hotspots by Pleaseup – Interactive Image Map & Tooltips 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Chartsy 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Matomo Site Kit 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Noted Visual Feedback 90+ · 3.0★ (3) 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.