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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “state dropdown”

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 “state dropdown”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Country Dropdown For Contact Form 7 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 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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 Country State City Dropdown CF7 5K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #1 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) 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 #13 ↓2 7 too low 7 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 Country and State Selection Addon for Gravity Forms 900+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Cities Shipping Zones for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Core Rollback 20K+ · 4.7★ (16) wp.org #18 ↓6 19 Departamentos y Ciudades de Colombia para Woocommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #12 ↓3 7 too high 20 Cool FormKit Lite – Advanced Form Builder for Elementor 20K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 RY City Select for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 Country Dropdown For Contact Form 7 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Dropdown Search Option for Contact Form 7 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 7 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.