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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple feedback”

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 “simple feedback”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Feedback Button – Jotform shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Simple Image Sizes 60K+ · 4.6★ (91) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Contact Form Clean and Simple 7K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Simple GDPR Cookie Compliance 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Simple Commenter – Website Feedback tool 200+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Very Simple Google Maps 3K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Simple Login Notification 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 4K+ · 4.0★ (34) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 ↑2 23 Feedback Button – Jotform 600+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 Anyway Feedback 100+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.