Plugin Pulse Beta
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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “envelope challenge”

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 “envelope challenge”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 2 of the top 18. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP-EMail 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #1 2 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 3 Guard Dog 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Tiger Elements Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Xtreme Forms – WP Contact Form Builder, Lead Capture, Form to Email & Webhooks 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 PowerSuite Modular Admin Toolkit 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WebHosting4U Secure Card Gateway for ePay Paycenter (Piraeus Bank) 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 FormGhost — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 LeadConnector 20K+ · 2.3★ (11) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 WH4U Domains — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 FOBO Data Maker Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 E Envelope Challenge 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 IATO MCP 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 LW Simple Forms 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Nahnu Cache Connector for Bunny.net 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 Keyless Auth – Login without Passwords 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 w3mypq — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 TechWizard Mail SMTP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18

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.