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

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 “salutation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

NgSurvey – Powerful, feature rich self-hosted surveys shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 164 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 WPify Woo – Withdrawal, CRN/VAT, QR payments, Heureka and more for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Funnelforms Free – Multi Step Form, Contact Form & Lead Funnel Builder 1K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 F4 Salutation Fields for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Simple Webchat 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #16 ↓1 11 too low 6 Integration for Zoho CRM and Zoho Bigin – Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Gravity Forms and More 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Filevue 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓2 12 too low 8 Japanized for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (21) wp.org #18 ↓2 10 too low 9 Buckaroo Payments for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Woosa – Marktplaats for WooCommerce 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Strainovic IT Shop Invoices for AbaNinja — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 AnyWareX JobPool — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 NgSurvey – Powerful, feature rich self-hosted surveys 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 maennchen1 Newsletter Germany — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 smartEngin Forms – Contact Form Builder with Newsletter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 DJCockpit – Anfrageformular mit Terminprüfung — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 rocketsuits Terminbuchung für onOffice — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Cubecolour Caboodle — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Maileon for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 CRM+ by Brainformatik Form Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Webcraft Forms 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Beziworld – Withdrawal for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Manueller Datenexport von WooCommerce nach Lexware 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 W Woo 1CRM Extensions 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.