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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “customer notes”

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 “customer notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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 Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #1 2 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Customer Area 10K+ · 4.0★ (89) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #17 ↑4 8 too low 10 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Add Customer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Wishlist for WooCommerce: Multiple Wishlists per Customer 2K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 21 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22 Frontend User Notes 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 YayReviews – Advanced Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 RD Order Note Templates for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.