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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “business hours”

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 “business hours”, 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.

Ranked above its merit

Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 41 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 7509 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 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5018) wp.org #1 2 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #3 ↑7 1 too low 3 Business Hours Indicator 8K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4825) wp.org #4 5 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too high 7 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5218) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #11 ↓6 2 too low 10 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7509) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too high 12 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #7 ↑1 5 too high 13 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (221) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (249) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2045) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1432) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #24 ↓7 6 too low 19 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Local Business Schema (JSON-LD) Lite 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Store Opening Closing Hours Manager 300+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 ITBoffins Live Opening Hours Banner & Table 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 PlexBlocks – Business Hours for Block Editor 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Orivo Business Hours Block 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 3 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.