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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “css3 image hover”

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 “css3 image hover”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Amedea – Unique Design Elements for Elementor shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ 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

Firelight Lightbox places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 361 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #1 2 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #2 3 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Image Hover Effects – WordPress Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (42) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 WRC Pricing Tables – Responsive CSS3 Pricing Tables 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Image Hover Effects For WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Gallery – Photo Albums Plugin 2K+ · 3.8★ (277) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Grid Gallery – for Photo Gallery, Image Gallery & Portfolio 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 WPB Product Slider for WooCommerce – Responsive Product Carousel & Showcase 4K+ · 4.1★ (38) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Custom Add to Cart Button Label and Link for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 WPB Category Slider for WooCommerce – Responsive Product Category Carousel & Enhanced UX 700+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Grayscale Images 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Amedea – Unique Design Elements for Elementor 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Hover Effects Addons for Elementor 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 3 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.