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

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 optimisation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

MailerLite – Signup forms (official) shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 41 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF places #9 on merit, 4.5★ from 830 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #1 2 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #2 3 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Quick Contact Form 1K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 MailerLite – Signup forms (official) 100K+ · 2.9★ (41) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Secure Encrypted Form 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Performance Optimisation — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Enable Turnstile (Cloudflare) for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Kudos Donations: Easy Donations with Mollie | One-off & Recurring | PDF Receipts | Buttons & Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Clearout Email Validator – Real-Time Email Verification on WordPress Forms 500+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 BitBot – AI Chatbot, Content Generator, Forms & Leads 70+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 WP Flashy Marketing Automation 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Tabby Checkout 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.