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

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 effects”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 265 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #3 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 5 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too low 8 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #9 ↑14 1 too low 9 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too low 11 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #20 ↓6 3 too low 18 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Image Hover Effects – WordPress Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (42) wp.org #12 ↓3 7 too high 20 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Image Hover Effects For WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓3 8 too high 22 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓3 15 too high 24 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.