Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “customize 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 “customize message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Message Popup For Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 No Shipping Message for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #9 ↑10 3 too low 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↑3 7 too low 8 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 too low 9 Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #18 ↑2 9 too low 10 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 S Simple Membership Custom Messages 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑1 11 too high 15 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 OrderConvo – Vendor & Customer Messages After Orders 200+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 My WP Customize Admin/Frontend 8K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #12 ↓4 9 too high 22 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #24 ↑1 2 too low 23 Message Popup For Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #5 18 too high 24 Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 18 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.