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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “duplicated entry”

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 “duplicated entry”, we and wp.org disagree 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.

Ranked above its merit

GF No Duplicates shows at wp.org #1 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Featured Image from URL (FIFU) places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 264 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 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #4 ↓2 3 too low 2 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #6 ↑9 4 too low 3 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WC Multiple Email Recipients 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #7 ↑10 1 too low 7 CF7 Views – Complete Entry Management for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 GravityExport Lite for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #9 ↓3 10 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #10 11 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) wp.org #15 ↓4 3 too low 13 GF No Duplicates 600+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #1 12 too high 14 Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #11 ↓3 4 too high 16 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #16 17 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #24 ↓4 7 too low 18 The Innovative Form Builder – IvyForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓4 5 too low 19 SweepPress: Website Cleanup and Optimization 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓4 6 too high 20 Filikod – Alt Text Checker & Bulk Image Alt Text Editor 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Pods Gravity Forms Add-On 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓8 22 Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Form Enhancer for Fluent Forms 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓5 6 too high 24 Ananyoo Accessible Forms – Contact Form & Entry Storage 10+ · 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.