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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “first responder”

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 “first responder”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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.

Ranked above its merit

ravpage shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login places #5 on merit, 4.5★ from 459 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Arigato Autoresponder and Newsletter 500+ · 4.7★ (34) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Chained Quiz 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Telegram Bot & Channel 500+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 רב מסר – תוסף הטפסים (Responder) 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 Survey Maker by AYS 5K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #11 ↓4 5 too low 7 Lead Form Builder & Contact Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 VerifyPass Community ID 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↓1 6 too high 9 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 WPBot – ChatBot Conversational Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WP Weixin 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 NiroHelp – AI-Native Helpdesk for Knowledge Base, Tickets, AI Chatbot, AI Ticket Responder and more 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑7 5 too high 13 AutoCEP 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Inquix AI – AI Auto Responder for Contact Form 7 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16 AI App Onsite 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Broadcaster Auto Responder for Gravity Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 ReplyMind – AI Comment Responder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Dienstplan 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑5 3 too high 21 ravpage 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Lead Generation Form – Form Builder, Contact Form, Survey & Inquiry Forms 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Simple Contact Form – Accessible & Anti-Spam 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑4 4 too high 24 24TT Unrestricted Forms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.