wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “phone number shortcode”
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 “phone number shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 6 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
Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Country & Phone Field Contact Form 7 40K+ · 4.5★ (41)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 
Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too low 10 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 
Simple Business Directory – AI Powered 300+ · 4.9★ (62)
wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too high 13 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓2 14 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #15 ↓5 1 too low 15 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 
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 #24 8 too low 17 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 
Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296)
wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 
Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too high 24 D Display custom fields in the frontend – Post and User Profile Fields 500+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.