wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress tooltip”

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 “wordpress tooltip”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. 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) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #2 3

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 T Tooltips for WordPress 5K+ · 3.8★ (75) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #6 ↑1 7

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓2 10

CM Tooltip Glossary 7K+ · 4.3★ (157) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11

FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too low 15

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) not PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑4 3 too low 16

Tooltipy (tooltips for WP) 1K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18

Hide Tooltips on Hover – Clean Up Title Attributes Without Losing Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓5 2 too high 19

Tooltip for Gravity Forms 800+ · 4.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓4 4 too low 20

Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too low 21

Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22

Magic Tooltips For Contact Form 7 600+ · 4.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓6 2 too high 23

ToolTips For Contact Form 7 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24

Reference Manager for WordPress with Footnotes, Citations, Bibliographies, Tooltips and Glossary 60+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews 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.