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

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 “trello”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

FormLayer shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100K+ 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

Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 91 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

jav’s – WooCommerce and Trello integration WooTrello 200+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #2 3 too high 6

PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #9 10

Marker.io – Visual Website Feedback 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #19 8 too low 12

weForms – Easy Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder For WordPress 10K+ · 4.5★ (111) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 1 too low 13

Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) not PHP-current wp.org #22 9 too low 14

OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (125) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15

Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 16

Simple Commenter – Website Feedback tool 200+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 1 too low 17

HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 11 too high 18

Feedbucket – Website Feedback Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #10 8 too high 19

LazyTasks – Project & Task Management with Collaboration, Kanban and Gantt Chart 90+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20

Webvizio 100+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 21

Alpaca Issue Tracker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Sortable Dashboard To-Do List 80+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

FormLayer 100K+ · 0.0★ (0) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24

Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews 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.