wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “interactive image”
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 “interactive image”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Interactive Image shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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.
Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114)
wp.org #1 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too low 3 
Interactive Image Map Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #8 4 too low 5 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #12 6 too low 7 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 
Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
ImageLinks – Interactive Image Builder with Hotspots 1K+ · 3.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #3 9 too high 13 
3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182)
wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #24 ↓3 9 too low 16 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too low 18 
Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83)
wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19 
Interactive Content – H5P 40K+ · 4.8★ (61)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 
Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
MapSVG – Vector maps, Image maps, Google Maps 1K+ · 4.5★ (31)
wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 Interactive Image 200+ · 3.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓2 16 too high 23 
WP Before After Image Slider – Interactive Image and Video Comparison Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 
PicPoints – Interactive Image Map & Hotspot Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.