Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “callback request”

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

WPC Request a Quote for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Bazz CallBack widget 3K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #1 2 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 CallPage – Callback Widget 1K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too low 7 WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Floating Chat Buttons – Click to Call or Chat, Email 1K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑2 12 Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #14 ↓5 1 too low 14 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Multibanco, MB WAY, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payshop, and PIX (ifthenpay) for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too low 16 Easy Booking – WooCommerce Booking & Reservation Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Insert Special Characters 3K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Quick Callback Button 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓2 11 too high 19 A Action Scheduler 20K+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Firmao CallBack 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↑1 15 too high 21 WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) 100K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 WPC Request a Quote for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 16 too high 23 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Paydibs Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.