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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “interview”

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 “interview”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Cliptakes shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #3 4 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 easy.jobs – AI powered Job Listing, Job Board, Career Page, Recruitment & Hiring Solution 4K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #5 ↓3 6 Employee, Leave and Recruitment Management System – Crew HRM 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 ApplyOnline – Application Form Builder and Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (40) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 WPCal.io – Easy Meeting Scheduler 800+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 CardanoPress – Cardano Blockchain Integration for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Cliptakes 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Boei – AI Chatbot, Live Chat & 50+ Channels 900+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16 Liteweight Podcast – run your podcast site without the bloat 400+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 HelpGent – Video Funnels and Conversational Forms for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 VidSEO – Video transcript embedding for WordPress & LLM 100+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21 Interview 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Visitor Management System – Office Visitor Check-In Logbook 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 Jobus – Job Board, Recruitment & Hiring Platform 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Audio Editor & Recorder 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.