wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “phone 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 shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 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
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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.
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #1 2 
OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 
Country & Phone Field Contact Form 7 40K+ · 4.5★ (41)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Simple Business Directory – AI Powered 300+ · 4.9★ (62)
wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too high 7 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 
Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 
Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #5 10 too high 16 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #23 ↓10 7 too low 17 
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 ↓1 7 too low 18 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #17 1 too high 19 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too high 20 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 D Display custom fields in the frontend – Post and User Profile Fields 500+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 
JSM Screenshot Machine Shortcode 20+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 
isMobile() Shortcode for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.