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

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 keys”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 4 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

Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124) wp.org #1 2 Ocean Modal Window 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #2 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 SearchWP Modal Search Form 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy 100K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too low 16 Modal Dialog 500+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #22 ↓4 4 too low 19 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 TrustedSite 10K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too high 22 Search Modal Block 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Addonify – Quick View For WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.