wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “error tracking”

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 “error tracking”, 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

Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #2 3

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8

Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #13 4 too low 10

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 5 too high 12

WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #24 ↓4 11 too low 14

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #21 ↑3 5 too low 17

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #17 18

Controls for Contact Form 7 (Redirects, Analytics & Tracking) 10K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce 20K+ · 3.0★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 11 too high 20

User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #19 1 too high 21

YITH WooCommerce Order & Shipment Tracking 7K+ · 3.7★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22

Wp Tracking Codes 800+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #14 8 too high 23

Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24

Portugal CTT Tracking for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.