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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “frontend annotation”

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 “frontend annotation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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

Noted Visual Feedback shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

rtMedia for WordPress, BuddyPress and bbPress places #7 on merit, 3.7★ from 152 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Hypothesis 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too low 4 Annotix – Visual Website Feedback & Annotation 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 rtMedia for WordPress, BuddyPress and bbPress 7K+ · 3.7★ (152) wp.org #17 ↓1 10 too low 8 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓4 2 too low 9 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Virtual Classroom & Video Conferencing – BigBlueButton 400+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 Comment Image Boost 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Chessgame Shizzle 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #12 13 Highlite – Simple Frontend Text Highlighter 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Ultimate Classified Listings – Classifieds, Directory & Marketplace 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 15 SwiftSearch for Typesense 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓6 9 too low 16 Image Hotspots by Pleaseup – Interactive Image Map & Tooltips 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑3 8 too high 17 PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 B2B Product Catalog – No E-Commerce, Global RFQ & Bulk Quote 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 BrainCert Virtual Classroom 10+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 WebPOS – Point of Sale for WooCommerce 50+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 Corsen Context 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑6 5 too high 22 Noted Visual Feedback 90+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 15 too high 23 Conversion Agent Discovery 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 No Cookie Analytics – By Arfa — · 5.0★ (1) 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.