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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “phone validator”

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 validator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Softech Country Phone Validator shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ 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

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 504 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Phone Validator with Flags for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 2 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Byteplant Phone Validator 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Clearout Email Validator – Real-Time Email Verification on WordPress Forms 500+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Byteplant Email Validator 90+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Structured Content (JSON-LD) #wpsc 30K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Address Validator for WooCommerce 90+ · 3.4★ (9) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Softech Country Phone Validator 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Phone Validator for WPForms 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 CapiFlow – Conversions API (CAPI) Tracking for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Odyssey LLMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 21 LeadConnector 20K+ · 2.3★ (11) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Phone Field with Country Code for Elementor – Pluginry 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 EU VAT Validator for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 AEO Engine 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.