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

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 plugin wordpress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

Team Members Showcase shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 21 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 859 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too high 5

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑1 7

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #7 ↑2 8

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too low 9

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #9 ↑1 10

Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #8 2 too high 11

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too low 13

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14

Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #18 ↑6 3 too low 16

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20

Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 9 too high 21

AWP Classifieds 3K+ · 4.6★ (301) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 2 too high 22

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23

AWSM Team – Team Showcase Plugin 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24

Team Showcase – Responsive Team Members Grid, Slider & Carousel Plugin 2K+ · 3.4★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 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.