Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 orders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order shows at wp.org #17 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 350 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 #2 3 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 WP Customer Area 10K+ · 4.0★ (89) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too high 9 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Add Customer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 ↑5 4 too high 11 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 Customer Reviews Collector for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too high 18 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #20 ↓5 2 too low 19 PiWeb Export Customers Users & Guest customer to CSV for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 Export Products, Orders & Customers for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #24 ↓5 2 too low 23 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.