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

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 “basket”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 8 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

PayJustNow for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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

Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 535 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 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #1 2 Simple Discount Rules for Woocommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Live Carts for WooCommerce: Track Active, Abandoned, and Converted Carts & Wishlists in Real Time! 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 StoreCustomizer – A plugin to Customize all WooCommerce Pages 20K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #18 ↑3 14 too low 5 Combo Offers WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 First Order Discount Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #20 ↓1 13 too low 8 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools 30K+ · 4.6★ (535) wp.org #24 ↓4 15 too low 10 Floating Cart Product For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Bulk Order WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Nudgify Social Proof 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Yandex.Metrica 60K+ · 3.7★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Power Coupons for WooCommerce 30K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑5 6 too high 15 Sezzle Woocommerce Payment 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑5 10 too high 16 Custom Fee Woocommerce 400+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Travelmanager – Tours, Tickets & Bookings 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18 PayJustNow for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Product Side Cart For WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓2 10 too high 21 CorvusPay WooCommerce Payment Gateway 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 ViaBill – WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Build Your Own Basket for Woocommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Invoice and Partial Payments for Woocommerce – easyCredit Business Services 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 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.