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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clickable image”

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 “clickable image”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 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

Clickable Featured Image shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1597 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #2 ↑3 3 No Right Click Images 20K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #3 4 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #7 ↑16 2 too low 6 Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #19 ↓5 10 too low 10 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #10 ↓3 11 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Shoppable Images (Lookbook) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Easy Image Collage 3K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 Interactive Image Map Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN – Sirv 900+ · 4.9★ (265) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 MapSVG – Vector maps, Image maps, Google Maps 1K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑4 12 too high 21 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Clickable Featured Image 90+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 18 too high 24 All In One Image Viewer – Zoom, Magnify, Maps & Rotation 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.