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

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 “picasa”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Smart Image Gallery shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #1 2

Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) closure risk stale but ranked wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #2 1 too high 4 M Media Manager Plus 100+ · 3.8★ (10) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #7 3 too low 5 P Photo Express for Google 60+ · 4.4★ (20) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 7 too low 6 W WP Sticky Social 100+ · 4.3★ (4) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Google Photos embed 600+ · 3.7★ (9) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 2 too low 8 T Thomas the Bear — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 4 too high 9 W WP-Slimbox2 Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10

H Gallery 10+ · 4.5★ (2) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 11 T Tipsy Social Icons 100+ · 4.5★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 12

WP Conference 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #8 4 too high 13 A Auto Save Remote Image 50+ · 4.3★ (4) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Filestack 10+ · 4.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 1 too high 15

Grisha's GPlus Gallery Shortcode 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 16 B Blip Slideshow 30+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 17 R rtWidgets 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 18 S SlideshowFx 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 1 too low 19 G GalleriaPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20 S Shashin permalinks 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too low 21 W WP-Lifestream2 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too low 22

Smart Image Gallery 100+ · 1.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 16 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.