wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “icontact”
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 “icontact”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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
Integrate Contact Form 7 and iContact shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Coming Soon Page & Maintenance Mode places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 129 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #3 2 too low 2 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too low 4 
Optin Forms – Simple List Building Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.6★ (72)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322)
wp.org #13 8 too low 6 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
iContact Lead Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #1 7 too high 9 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60)
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Coming Soon Page & Maintenance Mode 2K+ · 4.8★ (129)
wp.org #24 12 too low 13 
PopupAlly 2K+ · 4.1★ (76)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
Site Offline Or Coming Soon Or Maintenance Mode 20K+ · 4.8★ (399) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43)
wp.org #15 16 
HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Integrate Contact Form 7 and iContact 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #2 15 too high 18 
WebinarIgnition – AI & MCP Webinar Builder on Your WordPress: Live, Automated & Evergreen, WooCommerce Upsells Inside 60+ · 4.5★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Thrive Automator 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
Easy Notify Lite 300+ · 3.3★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 S Subscribe Mailchimp for EDD 20+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Contact Form Plugin 2K+ · 2.8★ (17) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
Connect Contact Form 7 and AWeber 300+ · 2.5★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
EngageBay Landing Pages – Responsive landing pages for lead generation and conversions 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.