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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “age gateway”

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 “age gateway”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

PayPlus Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 292 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #4 ↑3 3 too low 2 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Buckaroo Payments for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #19 ↓2 11 too low 9 Milo Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce and Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Advanced Local Pickup for WooCommerce – Click & Collect, In-Store Pickup 3K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 MotoPress Hotel Booking 10K+ · 3.7★ (65) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 Frisbii Pay 1K+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓2 8 too high 15 Identity Verification for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16 Additional Terms Lite for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.6★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 PayPlus Payment Gateway 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓2 10 too high 18 Cost Calculator & Cost Estimation 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 CorvusPay WooCommerce Payment Gateway 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 FreePay for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 MyFatoorah – WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 Sezzle Woocommerce Payment 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑2 9 too high 23 Product Fees for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Svea Checkout for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.