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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sidebar image”

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 “sidebar image”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

CodingBunny Image Optimizer shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 600+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #1 2 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 4 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #4 5 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Image Alt Text 10K+ · 5.0★ (56) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Image Widget 100K+ · 4.9★ (287) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Bulk Auto Image Alt Text (Alt tag, Alt attribute) optimizer (image SEO) 10K+ · 4.2★ (111) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy 100K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Hot Random Image 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Enable Responsive Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 22 Sharing Image 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 CodingBunny Image Optimizer 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.