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

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 shop”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

ShopPress – Shop Builder for Elementor and WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ 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

Polylang places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 3003 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #2 3 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Shop Page WP 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #6 7 Post/Page Specific Custom Code 6K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #20 ↓3 12 too low 9 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #18 ↓2 9 too low 10 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 One Stop Shop for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 ↑1 9 too high 14 RepairBuddy – Repair Shop CRM & Booking Plugin for WordPress 400+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 SMNTCS Custom Logo Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Magical Shop Builder – WooCommerce Template Builder for Elementor | Shop, Cart, Checkout & Product Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Custom Add to Cart Button Label and Link for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Custom Site Logo 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Maximum, Minimum and Multiple Quantity for WooCommerce Shops 3K+ · 4.4★ (36) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Custom Add to Cart labels for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Add to Cart Custom Redirect for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 ShopPress – Shop Builder for Elementor and WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Trusted Shops Easy Integration for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.