wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “lightbox overlay”

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 “lightbox overlay”, 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

LC Lightbox Lite shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Lightbox with PhotoSwipe 20K+ · 4.9★ (115) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3

WP Video Lightbox 30K+ · 4.3★ (67) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4

Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Gallery Lightbox 10K+ · 4.7★ (106) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

WP Lightbox 2 20K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too low 9

LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11

Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12

Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13

Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14

WF Magnific Lightbox 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑2 6 too high 15

ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (71) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16

MetaSlider Gallery – Image Gallery, Lightbox Galleries, Video Galleries 10K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17

Ultimate Lightbox 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #11 6 too high 18

All In One Lightbox – show any media in beautiful popups 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #12 6 too high 19

Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too low 20

flowpaper 10K+ · 3.4★ (38) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21

ShapedGallery – Photo Gallery, Image Gallery, Video Gallery & Lightbox 1K+ · 4.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #15 6 too high 22

Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Image and Video Lightbox, Image PopUp 1K+ · 3.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 24

LC Lightbox Lite 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #14 10 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.