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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “office convert”

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 “office convert”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Awin Publisher MasterTag shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 402 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 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 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #4 5 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #5 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 M Mammoth .docx converter 20K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #9 10 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 My Tickets – Accessible Event Ticketing 600+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Appointment Bookings for Zoom GoogleMeet and more – Wappointment 1K+ · 4.7★ (50) wp.org #13 14 Stars Testimonials — Responsive Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar by vcita 1K+ · 3.9★ (117) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Buying Buddy IDX CRM – Real Estate MLS Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Store Locator for WordPress📍 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 22 Greek VAT & Invoices for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Cookie Dough Compliance and Consent for GDPR 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Awin Publisher MasterTag 1K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #10 14 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.