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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “textarea count”

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 “textarea count”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Aims Textarea Wordcount with/without Space For Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #2 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 20 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

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 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 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Count Characters, Words and Paragraphs while typing 300+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #24 ↓3 12 too low 13 Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Calculator Builder – Create an Online Calculator 1K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22 Aims Textarea Wordcount with/without Space For Contact Form 7 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 20 too high 23 Pure Metafields 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Lead Form Builder & Contact Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.