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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “handheld”

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 “handheld”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

PickingPal Lite for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Qty Increment Buttons for WooCommerce places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 319 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 StoreCustomizer – A plugin to Customize all WooCommerce Pages 20K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Barcode Generator: Print Product Labels & Order Barcode Label (A4, Thermal/Roll, Letter) 900+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WPC Smart Wishlist for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Qty Increment Buttons for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (319) wp.org #21 16 too low 6 Max Mega Menu – StoreFront Integration 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Smart CSS Auto Loader 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Easy Social Sharing 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Storefront Hamburger Menu 2K+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Storefront Visual Hook Guide 40+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Corona Test Results 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Slim Mobile Theme Switcher 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Stockaro Connect — Barcode Scanner for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Yova Game Cards for ludoteca.dev — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 T Toytown Map — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 PickingPal Lite for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Clipwave Video & Image Maker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 E E-Challan Check Punjab – PSCA — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 WooCommerce Frontend Shop Manager – Free Version 40+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Restaurant for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 OrderPiqr – Barcode Order Picking for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 SWFPut – SWFlash Put 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 M Mobile Detect For CSS 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 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.