wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website submitting”
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 submitting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Page Visits Counter – Lite shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 
Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too high 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #13 ↑5 3 too low 11 
Gravity Forms – Edit Entries 2K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 
Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 
Website Toolbox Forum 70+ · 4.6★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 
ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 
Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 
Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #9 11 too high 21 
JobBoardWP – Job Board Listings and Submissions 900+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 
Mail Queue 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 
Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More 10K+ · 2.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 6 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.