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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “client instructions”

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 “client instructions”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 Ultimate Client Dash 2K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 SureFeedback Client Site 5K+ · 4.0★ (39) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Complianz – Terms and Conditions 300K+ · 4.9★ (187) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 OrderConvo – Vendor & Customer Messages After Orders 200+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #21 22 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 PressedMail – Email Client, Inbox & Webmail 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Client Power Tools Portal 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 7 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.