wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “profile sidebar”

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 “profile sidebar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

WP User Profile Restriction shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #1 2

Sidebar Login 9K+ · 4.5★ (78) wp.org #2 3

Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction 1K+ · 4.2★ (222) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

WP User Profile Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 12 too high 19

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #18 1 too high 20

Social Media Icon Widget – Social Profile Links with Gutenberg Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #15 5 too high 21

Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Member Reviews 200+ · 4.7★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too low 22

WP Register Profile With Shortcode 300+ · 3.5★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #11 11 too high 23

Social Profile Frame Generator – Custom Social Media Frames Creator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #13 10 too high 24

Profile Box Shortcode And Widget 1K+ · 3.7★ (7) thin reviews 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.