wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “flickr gallery”
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 “flickr gallery”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Advanced Gallery & Repeater Fields for ACF shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 700+ 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
Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 2107 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #2 ↑6 1 too low 2 
Album Photostream Flickr Gallery 1K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Album Gallery for Flickr 4K+ · 3.9★ (86)
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 
Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203)
wp.org #6 ↓3 7 
Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498)
wp.org #7 8 
Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340)
wp.org #8 ↓2 9 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
Gallery – Photo Albums Plugin 2K+ · 3.8★ (277)
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 
Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 
Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91)
wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 
Animated Live Wall Gallery 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 
EXMAGE – WordPress Image Links 5K+ · 5.0★ (33)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Fullscreen Galleria 800+ · 4.8★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 
Slider Pro 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Accordion Slider 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Custom Social Profile Gallery 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 
Portfolio Gallery – Ultimate Portfolio, Filterable Grid & Image Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
Lloyd Gallery – Photo Galleries 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Advanced Gallery & Repeater Fields for ACF 700+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 
Smart Image Gallery 100+ · 1.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.