Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “macro template”

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 “macro template”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Dynamic Fields Engine – Custom post types, Custom fields, Meta fields, Taxonomies, Listing builder, Query builder and Relations shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ 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

JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.2★ from 72 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Metronet Tag Manager 20K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Stock Ticker 2K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder 80K+ · 4.2★ (72) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Posts per Cat 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 11 FlatPM – Ad Manager, AdSense and Custom Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Migrate away from FooGallery 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 Printcart Store – Web to Print Product Designer for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 CustomTables – Create, Read, Update, and Delete 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 15 Calorie Calculator 100+ · 3.4★ (10) wp.org #15 16 ParrotPoster – Auto Post to Social Media 100+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Re:amaze Helpdesk & Live Chat 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Dynamic Fields Engine – Custom post types, Custom fields, Meta fields, Taxonomies, Listing builder, Query builder and Relations 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Glyphwell – Visual Equation Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Deskovi — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 OptiPub — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 S SheetPop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Your Move Nutrition – Calorie Calculator, Tracker & Barcode Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Upload Metadata Scrubber: Remove Author, PDF, Word and EXIF Metadata — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.