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

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 “touchscreen”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

GM Digital Signature for Wpforms shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Slider by 10Web – Responsive Image Slider places #6 on merit, 4.5★ from 289 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too low 2 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #2 3 Signature field for Elementor Forms 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Slider by 10Web – Responsive Image Slider 10K+ · 4.5★ (289) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 U Urvanov Syntax Highlighter 3K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 3D Viewer Block – Bring Your Products to Life with Interactive 3D 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑1 6 too high 10 fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 WP Featherlight Disabled 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Black Studio Touch Dropdown Menu 1K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #24 ↓3 12 too low 13 MetaSlider Gallery – Image Gallery, Lightbox Galleries, Video Galleries 10K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 Signature Field for WPForms 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Ultra Addons for WPForms 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 GeneaCanvas GEDCOM Family Tree 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑2 17 Yeekit – Signature Field for Gravity Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Signature Field With Contact Form 7 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Digital Signature Addon for Contact Form 7 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 W2Lin Flip Card — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 TWWIM AI: Voice-to-Action AI Agent for WooCommerce and WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 NOW Finance Social Content Importer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Nexura Product Video Media Gallery for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 GM Digital Signature for Wpforms 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.