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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “modal css”

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 “modal css”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Modal COD Form for woocommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 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

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1668 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Light Modal Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Osom Modal Login 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 CSS Class Manager – An advanced autocomplete additional css class control for your blocks 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Modal Fly Cart & AJAX Add to Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Search Modal Block 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 WP Modal Popup with Cookie Integration 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Modal COD Form for woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Addonify – Quick View For WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 5 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.