wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “widget 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 “widget image”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Widgets for Social Photo Feed shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 28 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #1 2 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #3 4 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #4 5 
Image Widget 100K+ · 4.9★ (287)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742)
wp.org #7 ↑1 8 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #8 ↑2 9 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too high 12 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too low 14 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #16 ↑7 2 too low 15 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #15 16 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250)
wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
WP Image Zoom 10K+ · 4.3★ (119)
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 
WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117)
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 
Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 1 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.