wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom ordering”
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 ordering”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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
FoodBook Lite – Online Food Ordering System shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 415 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474)
wp.org #5 6 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415)
wp.org #22 ↑1 11 too low 12 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #19 ↑2 7 too low 13 
Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139)
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 
Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134)
wp.org #23 ↓8 8 too low 16 
Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40)
wp.org #14 2 too high 17 
Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
RestroPress – Online Food Ordering System 1K+ · 4.4★ (102) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 6 too high 20 
Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too high 21 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22 
Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28)
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
Custom Layouts – Post + Product grids made easy 3K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 FoodBook Lite – Online Food Ordering System 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #8 16 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.