wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “contact manager”
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 “contact manager”, 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
Contact Manager shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ 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
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #2 3 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #3 4 
Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441)
wp.org #4 5 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #5 ↑5 6 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #14 ↑5 6 too low 9 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #13 ↑8 3 too low 11 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 
FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #8 4 too high 13 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too low 14 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 8 too high 15 
File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202)
wp.org #16 ↑6 1 too low 16 
FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too low 17 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓5 1 too low 18 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓7 4 too low 20 
Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58)
wp.org #20 ↓5 21 
Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107)
wp.org #10 ↓5 11 too high 22 
Stock Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (130) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓5 3 too high 23 
Metronet Tag Manager 20K+ · 4.8★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓5 1 too high 24 Contact Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #12 12 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.