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

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 “starred”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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

Alpha Fields – Advanced Fields & Integrations for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #16 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — 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

Gutenberg Block Editor Toolkit – EditorsKit places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 176 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 FormGent – Next-Gen AI Form Builder for WordPress with Multi-Step, Quizzes, Payments & More 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Embed Files from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.0★ (48) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Gutenberg Block Editor Toolkit – EditorsKit 20K+ · 4.6★ (176) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too low 5 Mail Manager for WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – Database for wpforms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 FlowForms – Conversational Form Builder 300+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Leadite 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 Contributor Résumé and Insights 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 PortalPilot – Client Portal, File Sharing and Client Management 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 DriveHub – Google Drive Integration | File Manager, Image Gallery & Media Library 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WorkMore Media Folders – Media Library Folders & Drag-and-Drop Organizer 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 AFB – Auto Form Builder: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Multi-Step Forms, Conditional Logic & AI 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Entry Ranger for Contact Form 7 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑10 1 too high 14 LolaCore for Forms 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 gitblock – GitHub Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 C CraftForms Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Exportly for Gravity — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Zoobbe – Project Management & Kanban Boards — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Persian Office Automation SaaS 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Alpha Fields – Advanced Fields & Integrations for Contact Form 7 — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Entries Display for WPForms 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 EntryPort for Gravity Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 OrbitVault Submission Manager for Contact Form 7 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Deployment Toolkit for Contact Form 7 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.