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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “small business”

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 “small business”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Business Card Block – present your team and contact info in style shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #1 2 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Ever Accounting – Accounting & Invoicing Solution for Small Businesses 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too low 11 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #21 ↑3 8 too low 14 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #18 ↓5 4 too low 15 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3156) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 AIO Forms – Craft Complex Forms Easily 600+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Simple Business Directory – AI Powered 300+ · 4.9★ (62) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Business Hours Indicator 7K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #20 ↑2 21 Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Business Card Block – present your team and contact info in style 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 TikTok 200K+ · 1.8★ (39) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Business Essentials for Contact Form 7 7K+ · 3.3★ (10) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.