wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website annotation”

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 “website annotation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Annotix – Visual Website Feedback & Annotation shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 322 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 signals wp.org

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #1 2

Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #2 3

Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) low rating, top placement wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Marker.io – Visual Website Feedback 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

Simple Commenter – Website Feedback tool 200+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #7 2 too high 10

Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #22 12 too low 11

PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #23 12 too low 12

WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #10 3 too high 14

Interactive Image Map Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too low 15

Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #15 16

PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #21 5 too low 17

3D viewer by Visody 900+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #13 4 too high 18

AR for WordPress 300+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Simple Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 8 too high 20

Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

Annotix – Visual Website Feedback & Annotation 70+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 15 too high 22

PDF Password Protect 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

Superflow: AI Website QA & Visual Feedback 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24

Matomo Site Kit 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.