wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user notifications”
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 notifications”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
PiWeb Live sales notification for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #15 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 29 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 #9 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.
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #1 2 
OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 ↓2 5 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #6 7 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #7 ↑9 8 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #14 ↑3 5 too low 10 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too high 12 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too high 14 
Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 
Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63)
wp.org #16 ↓1 17 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #19 ↓7 2 too low 18 
WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131)
wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #18 ↑5 1 too high 20 PiWeb Live sales notification for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.1★ (29)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Simple User Avatar 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 
Disable User Password Reset Admin Notifications 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 
Hide WP Admin Notifications 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.