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

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 quotes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Quotes and Tips by BestWebSoft shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 2 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Quotes and Tips by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 4K+ · 4.0★ (34) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 ELEX WooCommerce Request a Quote 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce 8K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 Simple YouTube Responsive 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 21 YITH Request a Quote for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (66) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 S Simple Taxonomy Refreshed 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Simple Pull Quote 1K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #23 1 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.