wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cloudinary”
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 “cloudinary”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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
Anek Image Optimizer shows at wp.org #7 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20+ 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
Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN – Sirv places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 265 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale 5K+ · 4.0★ (64)
wp.org #1 2 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Auto Cloudinary 200+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN – Sirv 900+ · 4.9★ (265) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓2 11 too low 7 
Alt Text AI – Automatically generate image alt text for SEO and accessibility 20K+ · 4.7★ (35)
wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too low 8 
Import CDN-Remote Images 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
Identity Verification for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 9 too low 10 
Foliocast – Portfolio Auto Post & Scheduler for Instagram — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 
PMP AI Studio — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Anek Image Optimizer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 
EvoMedia – Link-Safe Media Replace, Convert & Cleanup 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 
Swiss Floorball API — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too high 15 
Sidcraft Cloud Media Offload — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 
Project World Impact — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 
Listonix: Listing Importer for HivePress — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 D Dynamic Cloudinary — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 
Tabilo – Table Builder Block — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 
ZIOR Lightbox — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 
W4 Cloudinary 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 
Image4io – Speed Up Your Website with Full Stack Image Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 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.