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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “connect api”

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 “connect api”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 7 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

Datafeedr API shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 AyeCode Connect 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #4 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too low 6 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 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 #23 ↓3 11 too low 13 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Datafeedr API 4K+ · 4.0★ (13) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 PagBank / PagSeguro e Vindi para WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 O OpenID Connect Generic Client 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 API Press – External API data, Connect API, Import API 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 Connect WPForm to Any API 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑3 4 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.