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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “event voting”

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 “event voting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Pollify – Feedback Polls, Anonymous Polls, Up/down Voting, NPS Surveys, Export data shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

eRoom – Webinar & Meeting Plugin for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams places #12 on merit, 4.1★ from 68 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 TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235) wp.org #1 2 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #2 3 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder 2K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 eRoom – Webinar & Meeting Plugin for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams 8K+ · 4.1★ (68) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Bookit — Booking & Appointment Calendar 4K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #13 14 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #14 ↑1 15 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Pollify – Feedback Polls, Anonymous Polls, Up/down Voting, NPS Surveys, Export data 60+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 ZenCommunity – Community, Forum, Social Network, Chat & Support Tickets 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Onyx Poll 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Turbo Addons Elementor 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Easy Form 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Spider Elements – Premium Elementor Widgets & Addons Library 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Event Voting & Live Leaderboard by Clicksmith — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Jobus – Job Board, Recruitment & Hiring Platform 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Plug-N-Meet web conference integration 100+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.