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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “support”

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 “support”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

HEIC Support shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 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 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #1 2 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 S SSH SFTP Updater Support 10K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #12 ↑7 5 too low 8 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #19 ↓4 11 too low 9 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #18 ↑5 7 too low 12 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 Support Genix – Helpdesk, AI Chatbot, Knowledge Base & Customer Support Ticketing System 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 Easy SVG Support 40K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑11 5 too high 17 Show Support Ribbon 300+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 Weaver Xtreme Theme Support 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 HEIC Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓2 11 too high 20 Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Resolai – AI Chatbot for Customer Support 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Better Aria Label Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 WPChat – Live Chat & Messaging Widget for Customer Support 6K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Glow: maintenance & support management for agencies 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.