wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom order numbers”
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 order numbers”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Custom Order Status for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 32 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 351 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 2 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #1 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 3 
Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146)
wp.org #3 4 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1,440)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2,147)
wp.org #6 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 6 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #5 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 7 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #7 8 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (351)
wp.org #14 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 6 places below merit 9 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #8 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 10 
Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337)
wp.org #15 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 11 
Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42)
wp.org #9 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 12 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #12 ↓3 13 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5,043)
wp.org #22 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 9 places below merit 14 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1,920)
wp.org #21 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 15 
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (477)
wp.org #24 ↓4 wp.org ranks it 9 places below merit 16 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #23 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 17 
OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #16 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 18 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #17 ↓4 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 19 
Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139)
wp.org #18 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 20 
Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 10 places above merit 21 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #19 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 22 
Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.8★ (29)
wp.org #13 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 9 places above merit 23 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32)
wp.org #11 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 12 places above merit 24 
Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.