wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom modal”

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 “custom modal”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1511 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #2 3

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #3 4

Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124) wp.org #4 5

Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Ocean Modal Window 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #5 3 too high 9

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511) wp.org #21 12 too low 10

Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #6 4 too high 11

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #24 12 too low 13

Light Modal Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #7 6 too high 14

Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #12 2 too high 15

Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Osom Modal Login 400+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too high 20

SearchWP Modal Search Form 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too high 22

Modal Dialog 500+ · 4.4★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

Search Modal Block 70+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 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.