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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “overlay”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 2 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

FooConvert – AI Popup Builder for Flyouts, Overlays & Bars shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 118 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Overlay Image Divi Module 2K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #1 ↑5 1 too high 3 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #4 5 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #9 ↑13 2 too low 8 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #11 ↓6 12 Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #22 ↓4 9 too low 14 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #23 ↓12 9 too low 15 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #15 ↑4 16 WP Video Lightbox 30K+ · 4.3★ (67) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 FooConvert – AI Popup Builder for Flyouts, Overlays & Bars 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 15 too high 22 Advanced Popups 60K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Gridly Design Overlay 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 15 too high 24 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 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.