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

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 reports”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Simple Client Dashboard shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 327 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 wp.org
1 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 PowerBI Embed Reports 500+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #2 3 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 #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 WP Client Reports 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↑6 1 too low 7 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #8 ↑9 1 too low 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too low 9 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #11 ↑7 2 too low 10 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #18 ↓7 8 too low 11 Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Sliced Invoices – WordPress Invoice Plugin 4K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #23 ↓4 9 too low 15 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #20 ↑4 5 too low 16 Plugin Report 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #19 ↓12 20 Sunshine Photo Cart – Client Photo Gallery & Photo Proofing for Photographers 1K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 ↑6 7 too high 22 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Simple Client Dashboard 2K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.