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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin order”

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 “admin order”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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.

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Ranked above its merit

Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 538 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #3 4 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too low 13 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 N Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns 500+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too high 21 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓5 4 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.