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

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 mapping”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Pronamic Domain Mapping shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 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 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Domain Mapping System | Create Microsites with Multiple Alias Domains (multisite optional) 2K+ · 4.5★ (56) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export 20K+ · 4.4★ (593) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 WC Fields Factory 7K+ · 4.3★ (168) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #19 ↓4 8 too low 12 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Custom Query Blocks 700+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Active Campaign & Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #16 ↑2 17 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Repeater Fields for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Pronamic Domain Mapping 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 14 too high 20 Mailster Gravity Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 WP Smart Import : Import any XML File to WordPress 900+ · 3.9★ (12) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Export Customers Data 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Integration for MailPoet and CF7 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Advanced Gallery & Repeater Fields for ACF 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 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.