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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “digital invitations”

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 “digital invitations”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Zenbit Invitation Builder shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 98 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #3 ↑3 2 too low 2 WP eCards – Branded Digital Greeting Cards 300+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #2 3 Digital Signature Add-on for WooCommerce 900+ · 3.1★ (19) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Sunshine Photo Cart – Client Photo Gallery & Photo Proofing for Photographers 1K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #15 ↑4 10 too low 6 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 Milo Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce and Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Easy Digital Downloads Digital Signature 60+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 WP Forms Signature Contract Add-On 800+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 CM Registration – Tailored tool for seamless login and invitation-based registrations 30+ · 3.8★ (8) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Livebeep – Chatbot, Live Chat, CRM & Digital Marketing 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Contact Forms 7 Digital Signature Add-On 300+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #6 ↓1 11 too high 18 Zenbit Invitation Builder 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 13 too high 19 Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Formidable Forms Signature Online Contract Automation 200+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Electronic Signature Add-on for Fluent Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 Electronic Signature Add-on for Forminator 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 WeddingBlocks 10+ · 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.