wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “projects management”

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 “projects management”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Project Showcase – Responsive Portfolio, Case Studies & Filterable Grid Layouts shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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 signals wp.org

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #2 3

FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #3 4

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #9 5 too low 5

UpStream: a Project Management Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 4.2★ (74) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #12 6 too low 7

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Zephyr Project Manager 1K+ · 4.8★ (98) wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too low 10

Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #18 ↑5 7 too low 12

Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13

Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑2 8 too high 14

Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

LazyTasks – Project & Task Management with Collaboration, Kanban and Gantt Chart 90+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #7 8 too high 16

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17

JoomSport – for Sports: Team & League, Football, Hockey & more 1K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18

Project Showcase – Responsive Portfolio, Case Studies & Filterable Grid Layouts 200+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19

Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20

MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21

tarteaucitron.io – Cookie Banner & GDPR Consent Management 10K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

Employee, Leave and Recruitment Management System – Crew HRM 100+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23

Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

HR Management Lite 200+ · 3.5★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 10 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.