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

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 “cosmetics”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Blanka private label beauty & skincare products app for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 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 wp.org
1 Quiz Builder for WooCommerce – Product Recommendations 2K+ · 5.0★ (102) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Flexible PDF Coupons – Gift Cards & Vouchers for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #2 3 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 YITH WooCommerce Badge Management 10K+ · 2.9★ (93) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #17 11 too low 7 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Selfnamed: Private Label Cosmetics for WooCommerce 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Product Expiry for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 VidShop – Shoppable Videos for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 AI Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – WPBean 1K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 Smart Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color & Image Attribute Swatches 3K+ · 3.2★ (13) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Blanka private label beauty & skincare products app for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓2 8 too high 15 WPC Product Quantity for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Medical Before After Gallery 30+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 HT Slider For Elementor 20K+ · 3.8★ (12) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Enhance Your Product Attributes with Elegant Color, Image, and Label Swatches 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 WP Before After Image Slider – Interactive Image and Video Comparison Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Emoza Starter Sites 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Auglio Try-on Mirror 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Maestro: The Inline Admin Menu Editor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too high 24 Posoria – Point of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.