wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google workspace”

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 “google workspace”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #1 2

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #2 3

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

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 #5 1 too low 5

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #13 4 too low 10

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #6 5 too high 12

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation 9K+ · 4.5★ (340) wp.org #23 10 too low 14

Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #16 2 too low 15

Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Contact Form 7 Google Analytics 6K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too high 17

Havenlytics – Real Estate Listings, Property Search & Agent Workspace 70+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #17 18

Nexter Extension – Security, Performance, Code Snippets & Site Toolkit 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too low 19

WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Tag Pilot FREE – Google Tag Manager Integration for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too low 21

GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #12 9 too high 22

GoodMeet – Meetings & Classes for Google Meet 80+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

GoPublish: Publish from Google Docs to Any Site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

DriveHub – Google Drive Integration | File Manager, Image Gallery & Media Library 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.