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

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 “responder”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

Responder for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 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

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login places #6 on merit, 4.5★ from 459 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Arigato Autoresponder and Newsletter 500+ · 4.7★ (34) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 רב מסר – תוסף הטפסים (Responder) 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Chained Quiz 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too low 6 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #21 ↑1 15 too low 7 Trusty Whistleblowing Solution 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Survey Maker by AYS 5K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 Telegram Bot & Channel 500+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Mailster WordPress Newsletter Plugin 7K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Poptics – Popup Builder, Email Opt-ins, Exit-Intent & WooCommerce Popups Sales 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 Contact Form Widget – Responsive Contact Form, Query Form & Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 Quick Contact Form 1K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 Responder for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Lead Form Builder & Contact Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Contact Form Plugin 2K+ · 2.8★ (17) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 VerifyPass Community ID 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Sopro 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 AI Auto Responder Light 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 WPBot – ChatBot Conversational Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22 Inquix AI – AI Auto Responder for Contact Form 7 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 ravpage 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 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.