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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “loan application”

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 “loan application”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Loan Calculator shows at wp.org #5 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 400+ 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

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 259 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Loan Comparison 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too low 6 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Quick Interest Slider 1K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Financial Calculator 400+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑5 5 too high 10 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Loan Calculator 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 WP Forms Signature Contract Add-On 800+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 Linusite Loan Application Manager — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 Lenderd Mortgage Application — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 payever Checkout – Composable Payment Gateway 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 tatrapay+ Payment Gateway 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 F Fusion Pay by tbi bank 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Loan Calculator With Chart 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Sparxpres for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Splitit for WooCommerce 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Snap Finance 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Iute 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.