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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “column 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 “column order”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Simple Menu Order Column shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #1 2 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #18 ↓1 11 too low 8 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #19 ↓2 11 too low 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #10 11 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #11 12 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #14 15 Purchased Items Column for WooCommerce Orders 700+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 N Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns 500+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #17 ↑5 2 too high 20 WP All Export – Order Export for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↑1 2 too low 23 S Simple Menu Order Column 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Last Users Order Column for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.