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

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 “team”, we agree with wp.org 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

AWSM Team – Team Showcase Plugin shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #1 2 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #5 6 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Team Members 20K+ · 4.2★ (53) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Team Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (53) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 Team Builder – Team Member Showcase With Grid and slider, Compatible With Elementor, Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 AWSM Team – Team Showcase Plugin 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Team Showcase – Responsive Team Members Grid, Slider & Carousel Plugin 2K+ · 3.4★ (24) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 Team Member Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑4 9 too high 20 Team Builder Member Showcase 1K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 WP Team – WordPress Team Member Plugin 500+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Team Members Profile – Employee Directory & Staff Showcase 600+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 immonex Kickstart Team 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Team Section Block – Showcase Team Members with Layout Options 1K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.