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

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 “productivity”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

ShipStation for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Duplicate Post places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Assistant – Every Day Productivity Apps 4K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #5 ↑5 1 too low 5 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #7 ↑8 2 too low 6 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #11 ↓4 5 too low 7 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #9 ↓5 2 too low 8 Flexible Editor Panel for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (74) wp.org #8 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #12 ↑9 3 too low 10 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too low 11 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #14 ↑7 2 too low 13 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #17 ↓3 3 too low 15 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 ShipStation for WooCommerce 40K+ · 3.3★ (13) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Noted! 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓4 5 too low 19 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too high 20 Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too high 21 AI Copilot – ChatGPT Chatbot & AI Engine for Post Automation 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓5 22 HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓4 6 too high 23 Creative Addons for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Kanbanz 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.