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

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 “portrait”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Portrait-Archiv Photostore – Sell Photos & Client Galleries shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 640 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #1 2 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too low 3 M Mesmerize Companion 50K+ · 4.4★ (51) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy 100K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Sunshine Photo Cart – Client Photo Gallery & Photo Proofing for Photographers 1K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Gift Cards (Gift Vouchers and Packages) (WooCommerce Supported) 1K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Music Player for Elementor – Audio Player & Podcast Player 10K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 WP Video Popup – WordPress Video Lightbox for YouTube, Rumble & Vimeo 9K+ · 4.1★ (43) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 M Materialis Companion 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 PDF & Print by BestWebSoft – WordPress Posts and Pages PDF Generator Plugin 9K+ · 3.9★ (102) wp.org #15 16 CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 RootsPersona 400+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #17 18 GS Pinterest Portfolio – Pins Grid, Masonry, User Profile, Popup & Board Widgets 1K+ · 4.8★ (47) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Grid Gallery – for Photo Gallery, Image Gallery & Portfolio 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Portrait-Archiv Photostore – Sell Photos & Client Galleries 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #3 ↑1 17 too high 21 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Ultimate Watermark – Image Watermark, Image Protection & Bulk Watermarking 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Abs – Additional block styles 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 ReelsHive 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.