wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user 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 “user support”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #1 2 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #2 3 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #3 4 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #4 5 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 
Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69)
wp.org #5 ↑3 3 too high 9 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #9 10 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281)
wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too low 12 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #11 ↑11 1 too high 13 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #10 ↑6 4 too high 15 
Smart User Slug Hider 2K+ · 4.9★ (55)
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 S SSH SFTP Updater Support 10K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too high 19 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194)
wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓3 9 too high 24 
HEIC Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓5 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.