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

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 “triggers”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Ele Conditions for Elementor shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 7508 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 700K+ · 4.9★ (4509) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (698) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7508) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (279) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8865) wp.org #11 ↓3 4 too low 8 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1432) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Automated Stock Update Triggers for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (391) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (524) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Joinchat – Enhanced "click to chat" 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Responsive Menu – Create Mobile-Friendly Menu 70K+ · 4.5★ (573) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 CF7 to Webhook 30K+ · 5.0★ (53) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 AutomatorWP – No-Code Workflow Automation, Integration & Webhooks Plugin, now with AI 7K+ · 4.8★ (201) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (549) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 80K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Website LLMs.txt 40K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Ele Conditions for Elementor 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 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.