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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email 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 “email invitations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Zenbit Invitation Builder shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Widgets for Booking.com Reviews places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 65 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 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Customer Reviews Collector for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 MoreConvert Wishlist for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction 1K+ · 4.2★ (222) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Widgets for Booking.com Reviews 9K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Widgets for Reviews & Recommendations 8K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 MyLiveChat – Free Live Chat & AI Chatbot 800+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 EchoRewards – Refer a Friend Rewards Program for WooCommerce 300+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 RSVPMaker 200+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 CM Registration – Tailored tool for seamless login and invitation-based registrations 30+ · 3.8★ (8) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 PressedMail – Email Client, Inbox & Webmail 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Revi.io – Customer and Product Reviews 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Zenbit Invitation Builder 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 Merchant Center Reviews for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.