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

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 “employees”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

All in One Time Clock Lite – Tracking Employee Time Has Never Been Easier shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 402 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #2 3 VikAppointments Services Booking Calendar 500+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 4 ERP: Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite Built for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (149) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Cool Flipbox – Shortcode & Gutenberg Block 5K+ · 4.8★ (103) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 FG PrestaShop to WooCommerce 800+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 O OneLogin SAML SSO 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #17 ↓3 8 too low 10 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 ShiftController Employee Shift Scheduling 600+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 Team Members 20K+ · 4.2★ (53) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 PowerBI Embed Reports 500+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 All in One Time Clock Lite – Tracking Employee Time Has Never Been Easier 500+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #5 ↓1 10 too high 16 Login for Google Apps by WPAuth 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Employee Spotlight – Team Member Showcase & Meet the Team Plugin 300+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Trusty Whistleblowing Solution 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 Disable User Login 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 IMPress for IDX Broker 7K+ · 3.1★ (34) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Time Clock – A WordPress Employee & Volunteer Time Clock Plugin 500+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Booking System Trafft 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 Quentn WP 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.