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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user area”

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 “user area”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Manage User Columns shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 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 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Customer Area 10K+ · 4.0★ (89) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too low 7 Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #9 ↓3 10 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too high 11 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too high 14 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too high 15 Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too high 17 WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #18 ↓4 3 too high 22 WP User Groups 600+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Premmerce User Roles 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓3 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.