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

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 proofing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin shows at wp.org #7 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 picu – Online Photo Proofing Gallery 2K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #2 3 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Sunshine Photo Cart – Client Photo Gallery & Photo Proofing for Photographers 1K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #6 7 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Gmedia Photo Gallery 7K+ · 4.3★ (260) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 FolioBlocks 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 PhotoBerry Studio for Photographers – Image Selection, Proofing, Watermarking & Client Management 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 24TT Document Verifier 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Reviso – Client Feedback & Approvals for Bricks, Elementor & Gutenberg 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Smart Docs 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Pic-Time Connect 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 DriveHub – Google Drive Integration | File Manager, Image Gallery & Media Library 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 CJ Network Integration 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 QuickReviewer HTML Review Plugin 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 GatePass – Password Protect Pages, Posts, Entire Site & WooCommerce for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Ruhler Review Pins — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 KafiChat Lite 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 OGALLERY Light — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.