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

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 “corporations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Zain Corporations Contact Forms shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its — 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

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #1 2 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Zoho Flow – No-Code Workflow Automation 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #17 ↑1 10 too low 8 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 IndieWeb 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too high 11 miniOrange Embed Files for SharePoint/OneDrive 700+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 TicketMachine Event Manager & Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Automated FedEx live/manual rates with shipping labels – HPOS supported 200+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 ProctoPress : Quiz/Exam Proctoring For Learning Management System(LMS) 100+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 ELEX WooCommerce Australia Post Shipping 200+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Zain Corporations Contact Forms — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 VerifyPass Community ID 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Flywire for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑4 9 too high 22 Manager for Steam 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 HR Management Lite 200+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Bullhorn Career Portal WordPress Plugin 1K+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.