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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom message”

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 “custom message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Simple Membership Custom Messages shows at wp.org #2 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin Custom Login places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #7 ↑4 8 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 S Simple Membership Custom Messages 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 No Shipping Message for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too high 15 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 M Message Filter for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Custom Global Variables 5K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.