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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “form c”

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 “form c”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 4 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

Contact Form Zero shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 40+ 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

Quiz Maker by AYS places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 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 NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.1★ (135) wp.org #1 2 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #2 3 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Gravity Forms + Custom Post Types 10K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #4 5 M MW WP Form 200K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #9 ↑7 3 too low 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too low 12 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 HIPAA Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #7 ↑1 6 too high 14 GNU Terry Pratchett 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 Pods Gravity Forms Add-On 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓2 7 too high 16 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 Digital License Manager 800+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Ultimate Form – Multi-Step Form Builder, Conversion Analytics & Lead Forms 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓3 11 too high 22 Sobi Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Contact Form Zero 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 Repeater Fields for Elementor Forms 700+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.