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← Rankings

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

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 “constants”, 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

WP Gravity Forms Constant Contact Plugin shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 600+ 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

Smart Custom 404 Error Page places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1197 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. 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 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 1 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 #8 4 too low 5 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 Constant Contact Forms by MailMunch 2K+ · 4.2★ (49) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197) wp.org #22 ↑1 14 too low 9 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 FuseWP – WordPress User Sync to Email List & Marketing Automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign etc.) 2K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Integration for Constant Contact and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 800+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 WPVulnerability 10K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 S SSH SFTP Updater Support 10K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 MailMunch – Grow your Email List 5K+ · 4.7★ (241) wp.org #17 18 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 WP Gravity Forms Constant Contact Plugin 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 PHP Constants Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Constant Contact + WooCommerce 1K+ · 1.8★ (10) wp.org #14 10 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.