wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide thumbnails”
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 “hide thumbnails”, 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
MM Thumbnails – Hide Thumbnails from Posts and Pages shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 160 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #1 2 
Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Crop-Thumbnails 40K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 5 too low 9 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126)
wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (160)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
WooSwipe WooCommerce Gallery 3K+ · 4.5★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Gallery with thumbnail slider 3K+ · 3.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #5 11 too high 17 
Smart Variations Images & Swatches for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (142) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Square Thumbnails 700+ · 4.2★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 MM Thumbnails – Hide Thumbnails from Posts and Pages 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #4 17 too high 22 
Thumbnail Slider With Lightbox 700+ · 3.8★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #11 11 too high 23 F Featured Image Thumbnail Grid 300+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) not PHP-current thin reviews
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.