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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “deposits”

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 “deposits”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WooCommerce Payfast Gateway shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Germanized for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 496 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 Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #1 2 Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce – Bayna 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #2 3 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Advanced Partial Payment or Deposit for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #6 ↑10 7 Booking and Rental Manager for Bike | Car | Resort | Appointment | Dress | Equipment 1K+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #10 ↓3 11 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 StockPack – Stock photos and AI images from Unsplash, Adobe Stock, Freepik and more 7K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 WP Hotelier 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 Ever Accounting – Accounting & Invoicing Solution for Small Businesses 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Sliced Invoices – WordPress Invoice Plugin 4K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Arconix Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Colissimo shipping methods for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.7★ (28) wp.org #15 ↓5 3 too high 19 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #19 ↑4 20 WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓1 13 too high 21 Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce – Deposet 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Interac e-Transfer / Email Money Transfer (EMT) Gateway for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 DEPART – Deposit and Part payment for Woo 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 SimplyBook.me – Booking and reservations calendar 30K+ · 1.0★ (1) 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.