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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cf 7”

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 “cf 7”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WPCasa Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 439 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #7 6 too low 2 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Accept PayPal Payments using Contact Form 7 500+ · 3.6★ (26) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 App for Cloudflare® 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #17 ↓1 10 too low 8 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Repeater for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #18 ↑3 8 too low 11 Cloudflare Image Resizing – Optimize & Accelerate Your Images 200+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Atlant Security 800+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 14 Campi Moduli Italiani 400+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #8 ↑4 6 too high 15 Contact Form to DB by BestWebSoft – Messages Database Plugin For WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 WPCasa Contact Form 7 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Advance Product Search- Voice & Ajax Search for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 Eazy CF Captcha 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Login Delay Shield 70+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 TextMe SMS 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 CompactForm – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Contact Form 7 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 一介資男(Mxp.TW) 開發工具箱 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too high 24 Honeypot Guard – Silent Anti-Spam 200+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.