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

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 “port”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Mailster SendGrid Integration shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gallery by Visual Portfolio places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 340 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

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 #2 3

SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #3 4

WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115) wp.org #4 5

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 6 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #9 10

WP-ServerInfo 10K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #7 3 too high 11

WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) host-installed base wp.org #12 13

Syntax-highlighting Code Block (with Server-side Rendering) 1K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #23 10 too low 14

Piraeus Bank WooCommerce Payment Gateway 3K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #18 4 too low 15

SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 9 too high 16

Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #24 8 too low 17

Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #14 3 too high 18

WebTotem Security 700+ · 4.2★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #19 1 too low 19

LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Server Info – System Health & Diagnostics Suite 3K+ · 3.8★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too high 22 C Contact Form 7 to API 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Mailster WordPress Newsletter Plugin 7K+ · 3.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

Mailster SendGrid Integration 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 13 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.