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

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 “wpform”, 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

HT Form Widget for Elementor and WPForms shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 262 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #2 3 Database Addon For WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – WPFormsDB 20K+ · 5.0★ (131) wp.org #3 4 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #4 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 File Upload Types by WPForms 40K+ · 4.0★ (20) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too high 9 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too high 11 Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Integration for HubSpot and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 5K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 File Upload For WPForms – Filenzo 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 PDF Importer for WPForms 300+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 HT Form Widget for Elementor and WPForms 2K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 13 too high 19 PDF Builder for WPForms 800+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #19 20 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Repeater Fields for WPForms 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 PDF for WPForms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Date Time Picker for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too high 24 Connect WPForm to Any API 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑10 10 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.