wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cleverreach”
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 “cleverreach”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 19. 4 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
Official CleverReach® Plugin for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 375 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 4 too low 4 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Newsletter Sign-Up for CleverReach 2K+ · 3.3★ (15) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
CleverReach® WP 4K+ · 3.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #1 6 too high 8 
Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 9 
Civist – Petitions and Fundraising 900+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
CleverReach Integration for Contact Form 7 600+ · 5.0★ (9) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Official CleverReach® Plugin for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.3★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #3 8 too high 12 
Nodest – Workflow Automation and MCP 10+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Adventura – Interactive Advent Calendar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too high 14 
Contact Form Migrator from Gravity Forms to Formidable 300+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
Send Data from any wp form to Google Sheets, Mailchimp, Notion, Slack & More – EasyLink Automations 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 P Popup builder by AZEXO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Quiveo Onsite Marketing — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Nuntium 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Ninja Forms – Submission Limit Cookie 70+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #17 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.