wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website leads”

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 “website leads”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 6 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

Lead Form Data Collection to CRM shows at wp.org #14 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 46 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #5 ↑1 6

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #6 ↑1 7

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #7 ↑2 8

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too low 10

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12

Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↓8 1 too high 14

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 6 too high 15

Website Pop-up Builder by BDOW! (formerly Sumo): Pop-ups + forms for email opt-ins and lead generation 10K+ · 4.2★ (519) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16

Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17

LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18

WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19

Cozy Blocks – Website Builder & Business Growth Toolkit | Popups, Lead Forms & Inbox 6K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #13 6 too high 20

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Lead Form Data Collection to CRM 400+ · 4.0★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22

MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Melapress File Monitor 5K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #23 ↑1 24

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.