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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hotspots”

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 “hotspots”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Image Hotspots by Pleaseup – Interactive Image Map & Tooltips shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20+ 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

Bricksable for Bricks Builder places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 61 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Image Hotspot by DevVN 20K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #6 7 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too low 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Interactive Content – H5P 40K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Bricksable for Bricks Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (61) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 Exclusive Addons for Elementor 50K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 Shoppable Images (Lookbook) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 ImageLinks – Interactive Image Builder with Hotspots 1K+ · 3.9★ (9) wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #22 ↓5 3 too low 20 PicPoints – Interactive Image Map & Hotspot Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 Image Hotspot Block 200+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Image Hotspots by Pleaseup – Interactive Image Map & Tooltips 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 Shoppable Lookbook & Image Hotspots 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 WPC Shoppable Images for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.