Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “polling”

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 “polling”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

WP Easy Poll shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 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

TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 235 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout 8K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 WS Action Scheduler Cleaner 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Live Auto Refresh (Hot Reload / Live Reload for WordPress Developers) 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Virtual Classroom & Video Conferencing – BigBlueButton 400+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Pollify – Feedback Polls, Anonymous Polls, Up/down Voting, NPS Surveys, Export data 60+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Cryptoniq 60+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 HeySpark – Live Chat and Call Now Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 WP Easy Poll 60+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 KafiChat Lite 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Abilities Bridge 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Pay4All TWINT – For WooCommerce & Pay4All Shop 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 OrderPulse: Auto Refresh Orders for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 Live Data Display 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 B2Brouter for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Finachub Mobile Money Checkout for WooCommerce (M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN) 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.