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← Rankings

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

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 “connectivity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Affilizz shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android places #11 on merit, 4.2★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #1 2 WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Edwiser Bridge – WordPress Moodle Integration 4K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Angie – Agentic AI 100K+ · 3.3★ (20) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑7 3 too low 7 Snitch 700+ · 4.0★ (27) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8 Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 400+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9 Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Grandranker 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 GSheetConnector – Gravity Forms Google Sheets Connector – Real-Time Sync 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 13 Sendle Shipping Plugin 700+ · 3.2★ (9) wp.org #13 ↓3 14 24TT Document Verifier 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 Vtiger CRM Integration for WordPress 200+ · 3.4★ (12) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Vulnity Security 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Shipday Local Delivery for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Unify 70+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 RushVue SEO AI Search Readiness 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Affilizz 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Infinity TNC Divi Modules 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 12 too high 23 Invalid Traffic Blocker 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Social Elements for WPBakery Page Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.