wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “map maker”

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

Quizably – Quiz Maker, Personality Quiz & Survey Builder shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Meow Gallery places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 203 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 signals wp.org

Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More 7K+ · 4.5★ (144) wp.org #2 3

Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↓2 4

Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6

MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 3 too low 8

HTML5 Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9

Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11

Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #19 ↓3 8 too low 12

Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) heavy footprint wp.org #18 4 too low 15

AI Popup Builder & Popup Maker by OptiMonk 3K+ · 4.7★ (98) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16

Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #15 ↓4 1 too high 17

Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #23 ↓4 6 too low 18

Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #16 3 too high 20

Interactive US Map 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓3 9 too high 21

PressPrimer Quiz – AI Quiz Maker, Exam Builder & LMS Assessment Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22

Quizably – Quiz Maker, Personality Quiz & Survey Builder 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑2 10 too high 23

Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24

Tasty Recipes Lite – WordPress Recipe Card Plugin with Built-In Recipe Schema 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓6

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.