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

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 “intake form”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Signature Field With Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 793 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #2 3 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #3 4 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Multi Page Auto Advance for Gravity Forms 2K+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #18 ↓3 9 too low 10 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #22 ↓2 12 too low 11 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 WOW Styler for CF7 – Visual Styler for Contact Form 7 Forms 3K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More 10K+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Easy Form 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 HelpGent – Video Funnels and Conversational Forms for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 LocalForm – Form Builder for Contact Forms, Surveys & Event Registration 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Lead Generation Form – Form Builder, Contact Form, Survey & Inquiry Forms 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Signature Field With Contact Form 7 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 11 too high 21 Clio Grow Form 1K+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 HDForms | Contact Form Builder 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Digital Signature For Gravity Forms 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.