wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image marker”
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 marker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Image Slider Slideshow shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Quiz Maker by AYS places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 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.
Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251)
wp.org #1 ↑11 2 
Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #3 4 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #4 5 
WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055)
wp.org #10 ↓8 5 too low 6 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 
Ultimate Maps by Supsystic – OpenStreetMap, Leaflet & Mapbox, No API Key 10K+ · 4.6★ (86)
wp.org #6 ↑7 1 too high 8 
Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too high 9 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #16 ↓8 7 too low 10 
MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147)
wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 
Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58)
wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #21 9 too low 13 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
ShortPixel Adaptive Images – WebP, AVIF, CDN, Image Optimization 10K+ · 4.8★ (145)
wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122)
wp.org #20 ↓4 4 too low 17 
MapSVG – Vector maps, Image maps, Google Maps 1K+ · 4.5★ (31)
wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too high 18 
ImageLinks – Interactive Image Builder with Hotspots 1K+ · 3.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓2 11 too high 19 
Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54)
wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 
Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21 
Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too low 22 
One Step AI Image Marker 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑11 11 too high 23 Image Slider Slideshow 2K+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 15 too high 24 
PDEV Image Optimizer – WebP & AVIF 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.