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

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 “workspace”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

VSCO Workspace Contact Form 7 Integration shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPIDE – File Manager & Code Editor places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 306 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #1 2

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #2 3

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #3 4

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #4 5

Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10

Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12

WPIDE – File Manager & Code Editor 40K+ · 4.8★ (306) wp.org #21 9 too low 13

Havenlytics – Real Estate Listings, Property Search & Agent Workspace 70+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑2 5 too high 14

WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too high 15

SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑2 16

Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

Form data to kintone 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18

StoryChief 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Nooz 500+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20

GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

WP Taxonomy Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22

VSCO Workspace Contact Form 7 Integration 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

Yaxii Product Workspace 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24

VSCO Workspace Gravity Forms Integration 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 8 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.