wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “lead bar”

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 “lead bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

YooBar – Notification Bar & Announcement Bar shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #1 2

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 4

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7

Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #7 8

HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #5 3 too high 9

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 ↓1 10

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 4 too high 11

Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12

Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #18 ↑4 6 too low 13

Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #13 14

NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 1 too high 16

HollerBox — Fast & Effective Popups & Lead-Generation 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #15 1 too high 17

Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Cozy Blocks – Website Builder & Business Growth Toolkit | Popups, Lead Forms & Inbox 6K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #16 3 too high 20

Icegram Collect – Easy Contact Form, Subscription Form & Lead Collection Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21

FluentPlayer – Video Player With Forms & Lead Capture 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22

Notification Bar, Announcement and Cookie Notice WordPress Plugin – FooBar 3K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23

YooBar – Notification Bar & Announcement Bar 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24

Lead Generation Contact Widget & AI Chatbot: Chat Button, Phone Call, Telegram, Email – SiteLeads 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 7 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.