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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hover box”

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 “hover box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

Gallery Box shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Max Mega Menu places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 882 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 wp.org
1 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #1 2 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #4 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↑3 7 too low 8 Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post 10K+ · 4.0★ (64) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #21 ↑2 9 too low 13 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Hide Tooltips on Hover – Clean Up Title Attributes Without Losing Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Gallery Box 1K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Service Box 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Service Box Slider 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Author Bio On Hover – Author Box 40+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #24

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.