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

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 “abandonment”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Promolayer – Popup Builder & Abandonment Preventer shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 346 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

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #1 2

Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #2 3

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 3 too low 4

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #5 6

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8

Direct Checkout for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (408) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10

FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11

Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13

Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.1★ (84) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14

Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #7 7 too high 15

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16

Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Promolayer – Popup Builder & Abandonment Preventer 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #4 15 too high 20

Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23

PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24

WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery, Search Abandonment & WhatsApp Chat Widget – WhatsApp CRM by OnlineLiveSupport 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1

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.