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

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 verification”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Make Disable Admin Email Verification Prompt shows at wp.org #2 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.8★ (47) wp.org #1 2 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #11 ↓5 6 too low 6 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #8 ↑4 2 too low 7 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #17 ↓6 8 too low 10 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Double Opt-In for Contact Form 7 – Secure, GDPR-Compliant Email Verification 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Make Disable Admin Email Verification Prompt 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↑1 11 too high 14 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #24 ↓5 10 too low 15 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Clearout Email Validator – Real-Time Email Verification on WordPress Forms 500+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 DeBounce Email Validator 300+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #14 ↓4 5 too high 20 Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 WP-EMail 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Reoon Email Verifier 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Speedx – Disable Login Verification Required Emails for Wordfence 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.