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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom labels”

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 “custom labels”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 54 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #2 3 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #3 ↑4 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Advanced Woo Labels – Product Labels & Badges for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #7 ↓4 1 too high 9 Advanced Product Labels for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (252) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #20 ↑2 10 too low 11 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #12 ↑4 1 too high 14 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #9 ↑2 8 too high 18 White Label CMS 200K+ · 4.7★ (114) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Custom Add to Cart labels for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too high 23 Custom Price Labels for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Custom Adobe Fonts (Typekit) 60K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #23 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.