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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive lightbox”

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 “responsive lightbox”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

VenoBox – Lightweight & Responsive Lightbox Plugin shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003) wp.org #1 2 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Lightbox slider – Responsive Lightbox Gallery 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #7 ↑7 2 too low 6 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Gallery Lightbox 10K+ · 4.7★ (106) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #12 ↑5 3 too low 10 Responsive Lightbox 10K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 WP Lightbox 2 20K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Ultimate Lightbox 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Responsive Gallery Grid 4K+ · 4.7★ (66) wp.org #20 ↑4 3 too low 18 WF Magnific Lightbox 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 All In One Lightbox – show any media in beautiful popups 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 MetaSlider Gallery – Image Gallery, Lightbox Galleries, Video Galleries 10K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓5 4 too high 21 Responsive Filterable Portfolio Gallery – Media Grid & Video Portfolio 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Thumbnail Slider With Lightbox 700+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo & Video Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 VenoBox – Lightweight & Responsive Lightbox Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.