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← Rankings

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

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 “square”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 7 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

MyPayKit – Payment Forms for Square shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100+ 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

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 WooCommerce Square 80K+ · 2.1★ (121) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #11 ↑11 7 too low 5 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #15 ↓2 10 too low 6 WC Shop Sync – Square Payment Gateway and Product Synchronization for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (42) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #12 ↓3 4 too low 9 Square Sync for WooCommerce | Comprehensive Data Sync Between Square and WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too low 13 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #20 ↑4 7 too low 14 Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too low 17 WP Easy Pay – Payment and Donation Form Builder for Square 1K+ · 3.8★ (42) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 PeachPay — Payments & Express Checkout for WooCommerce (supports Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, NMI) 300+ · 4.2★ (33) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Square Thumbnails 700+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 PAY by square pre WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 MemberPress Square — Accept Square Payments in MemberPress 60+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Square WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 12 too high 23 MyPayKit – Payment Forms for Square 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Loyalty Points and Rewards for Square 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.