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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “everest forms”

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 “everest forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Registration Form for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ 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

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #2 3 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #3 4 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #4 5 Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 WPB Popup for Contact Form 7 – Showing Contact Form 7 Popup on Button Click 5K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #11 12 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 FuseWP – WordPress User Sync to Email List & Marketing Automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign etc.) 2K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 La Sentinelle antispam 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #24 ↓5 8 too low 17 mosparo Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Zoho Flow – No-Code Workflow Automation 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Registration Form for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 WPBean Form Popup for WPForms and Contact Form 7 – Create Popup Forms Easily 600+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 SheetLink Forms for Google Sheets and Excel 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.