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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “any webform”

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 “any webform”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Mailercloud – Integrate webforms and synchronize website contacts shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more places #3 on merit, 4.7★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 MailerLite – Signup forms (official) 100K+ · 2.9★ (41) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #11 8 too low 4 Lead Form Data Collection to CRM 400+ · 4.0★ (46) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Fluent Forms Connector for MailPoet 1K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 E EntryWizard 80+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Multilingual Forms for Fluent Forms with WPML 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 FormLift for Keap (Legacy) Web Forms 300+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Zoho CRM Lead Magnet 3K+ · 3.1★ (25) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 ActiveDEMAND 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 DB-Views: Dashboards, Data Tables and Webforms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Vtiger CRM Integration for WordPress 200+ · 3.4★ (12) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 E EWZ-Rating 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Mailercloud – Integrate webforms and synchronize website contacts 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Zoho Integration for WordPress 200+ · 2.9★ (9) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 MIS Webform — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 FormStatus Form Monitoring 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Salesforce Integration for WordPress 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Enormail Sign Up Forms 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Freshsales Integration for WordPress 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Email and SMS marketing for WordPress by DailyStory 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Import Users & Customers with Meta | WP Ultimate CSV Importer Add-on 5K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Hooksure 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 6 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.