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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “active directory”

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 “active directory”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 8708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Active Directory Integration / LDAP Integration 4K+ · 4.9★ (211) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 5 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #5 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #11 ↑4 4 too low 8 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Name Directory 2K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #6 ↑2 8 too high 15 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Active Directory/LDAP Integration for Cloud & Shared Hosting Platforms 40+ · 4.9★ (39) wp.org #16 ↑2 17 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 WP Directory Kit 2K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Employee Directory – Staff & Team Directory 100+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 Staff/Employee Business Directory for Active Directory 10+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 A authLdap 4K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 O OneLogin SAML SSO 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) 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.