wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “poll widget”
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 “poll widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
WP Easy Poll shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1282 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452)
wp.org #1 2 
Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235)
wp.org #6 7 
Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282)
wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too low 10 
Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.7★ (210)
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #17 ↑4 6 too low 12 
Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277)
wp.org #12 13 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808)
wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120)
wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
TotalPoll for Polls and Contests 1K+ · 4.3★ (45)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34)
wp.org #8 11 too high 20 
Onyx Poll 60+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #10 10 too high 21 
SurveyX Builder – Survey, Poll, Quiz & Feedback Form 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 
CBX Poll 40+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 WP Easy Poll 60+ · 3.3★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #11 12 too high 24 
OpinionCamp – Poll Block 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.