Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “flags”

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 “flags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Telephone field for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 620 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #8 ↑2 5 too low 4 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #17 ↑3 10 too low 8 SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Phone Validator with Flags for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 Country & Phone Field Contact Form 7 40K+ · 4.5★ (41) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Currency Converter Widget 2K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #9 ↓2 11 too high 21 Connect Polylang for Elementor 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #24 ↓4 3 too low 22 Telephone field for Elementor Forms 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Smart phone field for Gravity Forms 5K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #23 24 Smart Phone Field For WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms, Elementor Forms, WooCommerce, Formidable Forms, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 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.