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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “img”

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 “img”, 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

Image Prioritizer shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 215 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 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Enfants IMG Performer 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 No Right Click Images 20K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 ShortPixel Adaptive Images – WebP, AVIF, CDN, Image Optimization 10K+ · 4.8★ (145) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Categories Images 50K+ · 4.5★ (86) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Kama Thumbnail 8K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #16 ↑6 8 too low 9 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too low 10 Helper Lite for PageSpeed 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too high 11 Coming soon and Maintenance mode 8K+ · 4.2★ (83) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Tangible: Loops & Logic 2K+ · 4.9★ (39) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Images to WebP 9K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Archivarix External Images Importer 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Better image sizes 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Image Prioritizer 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↓1 17 too high 20 Video Popup – Youtube, Vimeo, Gutenberg, Shortcode, Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓3 7 too high 21 Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 22 Image and Video Lightbox, Image PopUp 1K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #23 ↓6 1 too low 23 Remove Broken Images 700+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too high 24 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓2 13 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.