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

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 “aperture”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

FotoGrids – Photo & Video Galleries, Lightboxes, Sliders & More shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #1 2 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #2 3 Grid Gallery – for Photo Gallery, Image Gallery & Portfolio 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Ultimate Watermark – Image Watermark, Image Protection & Bulk Watermarking 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 MMWW 200+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WoowGallery 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 RPS Image Gallery 800+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓1 10 too low 8 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 B Better REST API Featured Images 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #24 ↓1 15 too low 10 MotionKit – Visual GSAP Animation Builder for Elementor, Divi, Bricks & More 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 KooKoa Folders – Media Library Folders & File Organizer 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 OrbitalWP – Task Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Yarns Microsub Server 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 Gallery for Google Photos – share your albums right on your site 1K+ · 2.7★ (6) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Heckgalerie — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Acclectic Lightbox — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Lichtbild Gallery — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Luma Product Fields 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 APS-C Crop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Uplink Media Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Aperture 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 EXIFwidget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 P PhotoPress – Image Taxonomies 20+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 FotoGrids – Photo & Video Galleries, Lightboxes, Sliders & More 400+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #10 14 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.