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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “accessible forms”

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 “accessible forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 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

Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 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 wp.org
1 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #1 2 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #2 3 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #3 4 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too low 7 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #22 ↓4 14 too low 9 Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Advanced Forms for ACF 3K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 C Contact Form 7: Accessible Defaults 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 ↑7 9 too high 14 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too low 16 Custom Contact Forms 6K+ · 3.5★ (171) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Contact Forms by Cimatti 700+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 HIPAA Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #12 ↑3 8 too high 21 WPB Popup for Contact Form 7 – Showing Contact Form 7 Popup on Button Click 5K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More 10K+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 WPSyncSheets For Gravity Forms – Connect Gravity Forms to Google Sheets 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too high 24 Ananyoo Accessible Forms – Contact Form & Entry Storage 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓4 8 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.