wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “microsoft store”
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 store”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 9 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
WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 122 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too low 3 
Microsoft Clarity 200K+ · 4.5★ (14) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
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 #7 ↓4 2 too low 6 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too low 7 
WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40)
wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too high 8 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too high 9 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too low 14 
CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #20 ↑3 5 too low 16 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 
Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 
Music Store – WordPress eCommerce 200+ · 4.1★ (52)
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 
Product Feed for Google Shopping, Microsoft Advertising and 40+ Channels for WooCommerce Merchant 2K+ · 4.8★ (87) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 
WP-Appbox 2K+ · 4.5★ (63) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓7 3 too low 22 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 
WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
UniPixel: Meta, Pinterest, TikTok, Google & Microsoft Server-Side Tracking for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.8★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 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.