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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “client proofing”

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 “client proofing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin shows at wp.org #8 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Sunshine Photo Cart – Client Photo Gallery & Photo Proofing for Photographers 1K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too low 5 picu – Online Photo Proofing Gallery 2K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Inline Image Upload for BBPress 3K+ · 4.6★ (65) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 FolioBlocks 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 PhotoBerry Studio for Photographers – Image Selection, Proofing, Watermarking & Client Management 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 ShutterPress Gallery – Masonry, justified and grid galleries, lightbox and infinite scroll 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Reviso – Client Feedback & Approvals for Bricks, Elementor & Gutenberg 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 13 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑2 5 too high 14 Generate Random Orders For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 15 Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 DriveHub – Google Drive Integration | File Manager, Image Gallery & Media Library 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 P Proofing Pins — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Tansa 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 PhotoProof 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 ProofCanvas — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 GatePass – Password Protect Pages, Posts, Entire Site & WooCommerce for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Matcha Gallery – AI Photo Wall, Masonry & Portfolio Studio — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Gallery for Google Photos – share your albums right on your site 1K+ · 2.7★ (6) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 FotoGrids – Photo & Video Galleries, Lightboxes, Sliders & More 400+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.