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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “gift message”

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 “gift message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Gift Pack for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PW WooCommerce Gift Cards 20K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #1 2 Gift Up Gift Cards for WordPress and WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (235) wp.org #2 3 Gift Cards (Gift Vouchers and Packages) (WooCommerce Supported) 1K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Gift Wrapper for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #17 ↑2 12 too low 6 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #18 ↑4 12 too low 7 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #19 ↑1 12 too low 8 Flexible PDF Coupons – Gift Cards & Vouchers for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards 10K+ · 3.3★ (53) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 GIFTiT – Free Gifts for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite 200+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 WebToffee Gift Cards for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Free Gift Product For WooCommerce 700+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Gift Pack for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑1 11 too high 19 Gift Vouchers for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 11 too high 20 Hide Price Until Login 1K+ · 3.5★ (24) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 WPC Smart Messages for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 B Beltoft Gift Cards for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑3 9 too high 23 GIFT4U – Gift Cards All in One for Woo 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Gift Message for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 10 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.