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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visual link”

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 “visual link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

GTranslate Visual Addon shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Code Snippets places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 510 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #1 2 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) wp.org #4 5 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #5 6 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #6 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #13 14 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Atarim – AI Agency for WordPress: Edit Pages, Fix Code, Update Plugins, SEO & Client Feedback 1K+ · 4.9★ (126) wp.org #24 ↓4 9 too low 16 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Easy Affiliate Links 6K+ · 4.2★ (34) wp.org #22 ↓4 5 too low 18 Astra Theme Visual Hooks 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓2 9 too high 19 LexonRank: AI Link Building, Free Backlinks, GEO & SEO Automation 800+ · 4.1★ (31) wp.org #23 ↓4 4 too low 20 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓3 21 Jamie's Visual HTML Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 GTranslate Visual Addon 400+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑2 14 too high 23 Visual Bible Verse of the Day Widget 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Extend Link 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.