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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image markers”

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 markers”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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 Slider Slideshow shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 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 #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #3 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Ultimate Maps by Supsystic – OpenStreetMap, Leaflet & Mapbox, No API Key 10K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #10 11 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244) wp.org #13 14 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 ShortPixel Adaptive Images – WebP, AVIF, CDN, Image Optimization 10K+ · 4.8★ (145) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 MapSVG – Vector maps, Image maps, Google Maps 1K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 ImageLinks – Interactive Image Builder with Hotspots 1K+ · 3.9★ (9) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Rapls PDF Image Creator – PDF Thumbnails & Featured Images 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Image Slider Slideshow 2K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 PDEV Image Optimizer – WebP & AVIF 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.