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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “role assignment”

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 “role assignment”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 60+ 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

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 402 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 wp.org
1 WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65) wp.org #1 2 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #2 3 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too low 7 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #11 ↑6 3 too low 9 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction 1K+ · 4.2★ (222) wp.org #10 11 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #18 ↓6 6 too low 13 Membership & User Roles for WooCommerce (Automatic Role Changer) 400+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Simple Client Dashboard 2K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Support Genix – Helpdesk, AI Chatbot, Knowledge Base & Customer Support Ticketing System 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Melapress Role Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21 PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Premmerce User Roles 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 N Ni WooCommerce Sales Report By User Role 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Digages Role Manager – User Roles & Permissions 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.