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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “continue shopping”

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 “continue shopping”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

WooCommerce Payfast Gateway shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 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 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Continue Shopping for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPC Smart Wishlist for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 4 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #4 5 WP EasyCart: Shopping Cart and eCommerce Store 3K+ · 4.5★ (206) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 TrustedSite 10K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #6 7 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #19 ↑2 12 too low 8 Add to Cart Redirect for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 StoreCustomizer – A plugin to Customize all WooCommerce Pages 20K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #21 ↑2 12 too low 10 Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 WPC Added To Cart Notification for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Wallet System for WooCommerce – Digital Wallet, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Instant Cashback, Referral program, Partial & Subscription Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 CartPops – WooCommerce Side Cart, Cart Drawer & Cart Popup 4K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #13 ↓4 14 Modal Fly Cart & AJAX Add to Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Mini Ajax Cart for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 ELEX WooCommerce Google Shopping (Google Product Feed) 1K+ · 3.8★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓4 1 too low 17 WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Floating Cart Product For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Direct Checkout – Quick View – Buy Now For WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 AI Powered Marketing 50K+ · 2.7★ (29) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 WPC Variations Table for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Friendly Functions for Welcart 900+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓7 1 too low 23 Checkout & Store Toolkit for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too high 24 Norton Shopping Guarantee with Package Protection 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓6

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.