wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fast order”

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 “fast order”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 5 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

Fast Woo Order Lookup shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #1 2

Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #2 3

Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #3 4

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #9 5 too low 5

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #5 6

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 3 too high 8

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #16 ↑3 8 too low 9

Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11

HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #21 ↓5 9 too low 13

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14

WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 6 too high 15

Fast Chat Button 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 8 too high 16

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18

Fast Woo Order Lookup 300+ · 5.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 12 too high 19

Order Minimum/Maximum Amount Limits for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (40) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 7 too high 20

Supplier Order Email 300+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #15 5 too high 21

Minimum Order Amount for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #14 7 too high 22

Fast Cart – Ultralight Ajax Side Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23 N Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns 500+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24

Order Tags or Order Label for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑2 2 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.