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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fake 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 “fake orders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 8 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

Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 254 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too low 3 Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #15 11 too low 5 Fraud Prevention For WooCommerce and EDD 4K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7 Ninjalytics: Sales Reports & Order Export for WooCommerce and EDD 6K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Notivo Notification for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (80) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 Add to Cart Redirect for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too high 11 Block Specific Spam Woo Orders 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Notiqoo – Order Notification & Customer Chat for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #10 ↑4 3 too high 14 CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ · 3.2★ (269) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 PiWeb Live sales notification for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.1★ (29) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Shipping Method Display Style for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #16 17 Checkout Guard – Block Fake Orders, Spam & Fraud for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Mass Pages/Posts Creator 1K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 CodeCareBD – Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Approve Orders for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker 300+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #4 20 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.