wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “attachment id”
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 “attachment id”, 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
ID Image Ad Popup & Roadblock shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 851 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 A Attachments 8K+ · 4.8★ (53)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
CompressX — AVIF & WebP Converter, Media Replacement 40K+ · 5.0★ (197)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Attachment Taxonomies 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
Autoremove Attachments 3K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 
DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302)
wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too low 11 
WP Attachments – Smarter File Management & Download Lists 3K+ · 4.5★ (43)
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 
Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 
EXMAGE – WordPress Image Links 5K+ · 5.0★ (33)
wp.org #10 5 too high 16 
Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 
Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #8 9 too high 18 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94)
wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95)
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 
GPX Route Map 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 
Able Player, accessible HTML5 media player 300+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑1 23 
RPS Blog Info 100+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 ID Image Ad Popup & Roadblock 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.