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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “field groups”

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 “field groups”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 23 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 4 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #4 5 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #5 6 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager 20K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #15 ↑8 1 too high 17 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too high 22 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Repeater Fields for WPForms 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24

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.