wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image hover button”
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 “image hover button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 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
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 995 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83)
wp.org #1 2 
Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250)
wp.org #2 3 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post 10K+ · 4.0★ (64)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #9 10 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 
WP Image Zoom 10K+ · 4.3★ (119)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173)
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 
Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 11 too high 19 
Easy Image Gallery 4K+ · 4.6★ (41)
wp.org #19 ↑5 20 
Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 
TP Product Image Flipper for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 
Overlay Image Divi Module 2K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 15 too high 24 
Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews
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.