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

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 “crowdfunding”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 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

Growfund – Ultimate Donation & Crowdfunding Solution 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 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 159 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Crowdfunding 2K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #1 2 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #2 3 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 FundEngine – Donation and Crowdfunding Platform 1K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WhyDonate – FREE Donate button – Crowdfunding – Fundraising 800+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too high 7 IgnitionDeck Crowdfunding Platform 100+ · 3.7★ (90) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too low 9 Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #24 ↓5 12 too low 13 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Pronamic Pay with Mollie for Gravity Forms 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑7 6 too high 15 HelloAsso 4K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 Steady for WordPress 600+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 FundPress – WordPress Donation Plugin 300+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Mission – Donation Plugin for WordPress – Fundraising & Recurring Donations 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 ShopEngine Gutenberg WooCommerce Builder Blocks Addon – All in One WooCommerce Solution 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Order Tip & Donations for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 SKT Donation – Charity and Fundraising Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 HelloAsso Payments for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #22 23 Pronamic Pay with Mollie for Contact Form 7 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Growfund – Ultimate Donation & Crowdfunding Solution 100+ · 1.0★ (1) 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.