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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email validation”

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 validation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Reoon Email Verifier shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #5 ↑16 6 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #6 ↓4 1 too high 8 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #8 ↓3 9 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #18 ↑4 7 too low 12 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Gravity Forms Email Blacklist 10K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too high 14 Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Email Customizer for WooCommerce | Drag and Drop Email Templates Builder 9K+ · 4.3★ (44) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 EU/UK VAT Validation Manager for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 WP Change Email Sender 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Reoon Email Verifier 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 DeBounce Email Validator 300+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Clearout Email Validator – Real-Time Email Verification on WordPress Forms 500+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 Antideo Email Validator 700+ · 3.5★ (14) wp.org #23 ↓6 1 too low 23 WP-EMail 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Real Time Validation For Gravity Forms 500+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.