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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “back instock”

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 “back instock”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Waitlist – Back in Stock for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 1165 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #1 2 Stock Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (130) wp.org #2 3 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Discontinued Product Stock Status for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (1165) wp.org #18 ↓1 13 too low 6 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Waitlist – Back in Stock for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 B Beltoft In-Stock Notifier for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 Back In Stock Notify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Y Yaomu SEO 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Smart Waitlist for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Prime SEO – AI SEO, LLMs.txt Generator, AI Bots Manager & AI Crawler Stats 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 WT Waitlist — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Corsen Context 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 DominoStock – Multi-Store Inventory Sync & Stock Manager for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Sidcraft Commerce for Sidcraft Page Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Zypento — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Entity Schema 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Agent Zappy — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20

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.