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

Repeat Order for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 5 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 First Order Discount Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #8 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Force First and Last Name as Display Name 2K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Art WooCommerce Order One Click 4K+ · 5.0★ (36) wp.org #13 14 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Featured Products First for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.0★ (18) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Order Minimum/Maximum Amount Limits for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Supplier Order Email 300+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Place Order Without Payment for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 WP All Export – Order Export for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #17 7 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.