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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dependent dropdown”

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 “dependent dropdown”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Chained Selects for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Contact Form Email places #6 on merit, 4.3★ from 102 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Country State City Dropdown CF7 5K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Product Category Dropdowns 800+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #3 4 PVT – Product Variation Table for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 WP Calorie Calculator 900+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #18 ↓2 12 too low 7 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #17 ↑2 10 too low 8 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 CubeWP Framework 3K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Order Limit for WooCommerce (Free Version) 800+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #20 ↓2 9 too low 12 Dropdown Search Option for Contact Form 7 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Colciudades – Ciudades de Colombia para WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Dependent Dropdowns for Forminator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 E Elmspur Cascade – Dropdown Redirect 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Nepal Dependent Address Dropdown — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Attribute Dropdowns 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Dokan Vendor Dashboard 200+ · 2.2★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 Chained Selects for Elementor Forms 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 BDLocation Checkout Dropdowns for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 OptionWeave Cascading Dropdowns for Forminator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.