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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “microsoft azure”

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 “microsoft azure”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20.

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.

S

Ranked above its merit

SSO for Entra ID shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 441 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Microsoft Azure Storage for WordPress 2K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 All-in-One Microsoft 365 & Entra ID / Azure AD SSO Login 600+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 miniOrange Embed Files for SharePoint/OneDrive 700+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 PowerBI Embed Reports 500+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 User Sync for Azure AD / Azure B2C 70+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 ResponsiveVoice Text To Speech 7K+ · 3.9★ (34) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 S SSO for Entra ID 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Health Endpoint 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 DixonSMTP for Outlook & Microsoft 365 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 miniOrange Embed Outlook Teams Calendar Events 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 SSO for Microsoft Entra 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.