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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “smart send”

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 “smart send”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

SmartSMTP shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smart Custom 404 Error Page places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1197 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #2 3 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Smart User Slug Hider 2K+ · 4.9★ (55) wp.org #4 5 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 7 Smart Archive Page Remove 6K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Smart Send 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Smart Image Resize for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 MoreConvert Wishlist for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Smart Attachment Page Remove 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Smart Marketing SMS and Newsletters Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (154) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Smart Online Order for Clover 1K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Smart Custom Display Name 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Smart Phone Field For WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms, Elementor Forms, WooCommerce, Formidable Forms, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Smart Showcase for Google Reviews 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) 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.