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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “constant”

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 “constant”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Constant Contact + WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.8★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smart Custom 404 Error Page places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1197 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107) wp.org #1 2 Constant Contact Forms by MailMunch 2K+ · 4.2★ (49) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 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 #10 6 too low 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Integration for Constant Contact and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 800+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 FuseWP – WordPress User Sync to Email List & Marketing Automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign etc.) 2K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 WPVulnerability 10K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 MailMunch – Grow your Email List 5K+ · 4.7★ (241) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 S SSH SFTP Updater Support 10K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 WP Gravity Forms Constant Contact Plugin 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 17 too high 21 Log in with Google 6K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Constant Contact + WooCommerce 1K+ · 1.8★ (10) wp.org #5 19 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.