wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “interactive campaign”

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 “interactive campaign”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Interactive Promo shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 60+ 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 #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #1 2

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #2 3

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 4

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7

Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #20 9 too low 12

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 3 too high 13

Spotlight Social Photo Feed 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 10 too low 15

Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16

StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #16 ↑2 17

Exclusive Addons for Elementor 50K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18

WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑2 7 too high 19

WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 2 too high 20

WebToffee eCommerce Marketing Automation – Email marketing, Popups, Email customizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑2 8 too high 22

Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23

Interactive Promo 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 18 too high 24

PuzzleMe – Interactive Puzzles for WordPress – Easily publish crosswords, quizzes, word searches and more 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.