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

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 “conversions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Google for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 268 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #1 2

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too low 4

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #10 ↑11 4 too low 7

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #17 ↑1 10 too low 8

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #4 ↑20 4 too high 9

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #15 6 too low 10

Fathom Analytics Conversions 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #2 8 too high 11

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓5 12

Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41) wp.org #8 4 too high 13

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Transliterator – Multilingual and Multi-script Text Conversion 3K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #18 ↓6 4 too low 15

Nelio A/B Testing – AB Tests and Heatmaps for Better Conversion Optimization 4K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #22 ↓11 7 too low 16

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17

CP Referrer and Conversion Tracking 300+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too high 18

Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #21 ↓5 3 too low 19

Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 5 too low 20

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 3 too low 21

Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓7 9 too high 22

Slickstream: Engagement and Conversions 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23

Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #19 4 too high 24

Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce 20K+ · 3.0★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.