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← Rankings

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

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 “signing”, 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

Flodesk for Elementor Pro shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ 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

AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 166 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 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5210) wp.org #1 2 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Interact Quiz & Form Embed 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Gianism 600+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #13 14 Digital Signature Add-on for WooCommerce 900+ · 3.1★ (19) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 WP Forms Signature Contract Add-On 800+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 HIPAA Compliant Forms with Drag’n’Drop HIPAA Form Builder. Sign HIPAA documents 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 MembershipWorks Login Connector 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Feedbucket – Website Feedback Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Flodesk for Elementor Pro 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 Electronic Signature Add-on for Fluent Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 linkPizza-Manager 700+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.