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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “input field”

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 “input field”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 8 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

SilkyPress Input Field Block shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #2 ↑3 1 too low 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Product Input Fields for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.0★ (17) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #6 ↑3 7 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too high 12 Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager 20K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #5 ↓1 8 too high 14 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #13 ↓5 1 too high 15 Input Mask For Elementor Form Fields 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Smart phone field for Gravity Forms 5K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Telephone field for Elementor Forms 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 SilkyPress Input Field Block 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Advanced Custom Fields: Typography Field 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Input Masks for Elementor Forms 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 12 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.