wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “product hover”
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 “product hover”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 7 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
Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250)
wp.org #1 2 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
Product Slider, Product Carousel and Product Grid Gallery for WooCommerce – Reno Product Slider (formerly Product Slider for WooCommerce) 20K+ · 4.7★ (280) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post 10K+ · 4.0★ (64)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too low 8 
WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #16 ↑3 7 too low 10 
PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too high 11 
TP Product Image Flipper for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 
Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
Product Carousel Slider & Grid Ultimate for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (33)
wp.org #10 4 too high 15 
Choosly – Product Variations Swatches for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (76) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (55)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
Product Slider, Product Grid, Product Masonry 9K+ · 4.3★ (86)
wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 
Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓9 4 too low 19 
WPB Product Slider for WooCommerce – Responsive Product Carousel & Showcase 4K+ · 4.1★ (38)
wp.org #19 ↓2 20 
AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Product Layouts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓6 6 too high 22 
YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons 20K+ · 3.7★ (57) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23 
Ibtana – Ecommerce Product Addons 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #11 13 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.