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

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 “lighbox”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

G

Ranked above its merit

GBS Portfolio shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Claudio Sanches – PagSeguro for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 914 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #1 2 LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #2 3 Lightbox slider – Responsive Lightbox Gallery 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #3 4 Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 MediaPress 3K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Claudio Sanches – PagSeguro for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (914) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Custom Share Buttons with Floating Sidebar 4K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Portfolio X 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Módulo PagSeguro 900+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Boostify Header Footer Builder for Elementor 6K+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #11 12 FCP Lightest Lightbox 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Catalog Booster & Product Catalog Mode for WooCommerce 1K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 Hover Effects With Lightbox For WPBakery Page Builder (formely Visual Composer) 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Responsive Photo Gallery & Lightbox 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 P PopupThis 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Photography Core 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 N Ninja Galleries 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Boardea integration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Y Yet Another Simple Gallery 30+ · 2.2★ (5) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Our Partners by WOWProjects 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 G Gameplorer`s WPColorBox 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 G GBS Portfolio 10+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #8 15 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.