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

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 “portal”, 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

Wompi Portal de Pagos shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Job Portal – AI-Powered Recruitment System for Company or Job Board website 8K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #1 2 Client Portal – Private user pages and login 3K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #2 3 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Client Portal : SuiteDash Direct Login 1K+ · 4.9★ (117) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #21 ↑1 15 too low 7 WP Top News — Build a Complete News Portal in WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 WP Customer Area 10K+ · 4.0★ (89) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #23 ↓7 12 too low 12 Clock In Portal- Staff & Attendance Management 200+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Interactive Content – H5P 40K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 WP Docs 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Bit CRM: Sales CRM Manage Lead, Contact, Deal, Invoice, Client Portal & Collect Payment 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too high 17 Rox Appointment Booking – Event, Calendar & Appointment Scheduling 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Houzez Property Feed 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Legal Text Connector of the IT-Recht Kanzlei 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Wompi Portal de Pagos 6K+ · 2.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↓1 17 too high 22 Automattic For Agencies Client 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Unbranded Portal Connector 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Bullhorn Career Portal WordPress Plugin 1K+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.