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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “date field”

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 “date field”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

Date Picker For Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 165 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 ↑3 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 3 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 ↓2 4 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #5 6 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager 20K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #17 ↑1 8 too low 10 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too high 14 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Custom field finder 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Date Picker For Contact Form 7 4K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Nepali Date Utilities 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 8 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.