wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “merge tags”

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 “merge tags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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

PDF for Forminator Forms + Drag and Drop Template Builder shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #1 2

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

GravityWP – Merge Tags 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

Bulk Edit Categories and Tags – Create Thousands Quickly on the Editor 3K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8

Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too low 10

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 #23 ↑1 13 too low 11

Flexible Table Block 40K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

Smart phone field for Gravity Forms 5K+ · 4.2★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #13 1 too low 13

GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15

Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #8 7 too high 16

Mailster WordPress Newsletter Plugin 7K+ · 3.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #9 7 too high 17

Range Slider Addon for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #14 3 too high 18

Disable User Login 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19

Tag Pilot FREE – Google Tag Manager Integration for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too high 20

Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

PDF for Elementor Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 3.9★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

PDF for WPForms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 23

PDF for Gravity Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

PDF for Forminator Forms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 200+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 9 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.