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

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 “hermes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Multi-Carrier EasyPost Shipping Methods & Address Validation for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ 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

Packlink PRO for WooCommerce places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 263 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 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #1 2 MultiParcels Shipping For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (62) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #3 4 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Packlink PRO for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.4★ (263) wp.org #17 11 too low 7 Venuera – Event Tickets for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) – WordPress Live Chat plugin 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 TrackFree – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking 100+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 LLMagnet – AI Visibility & AI SEO for Claude, ChatGPT & More 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce – Trackora 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 12 WP-Lister Lite for Amazon 800+ · 3.9★ (22) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Hermes Conector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 EMCP Tools – AI Page Builder for Elementor & Block Editor via MCP: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Y Yumyoda CopWatchdog — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Shipping Method for Hermes Germany and WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 SupportKontor – AI Customer Support by Email for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Iletisim Makinesi Entegrasyon Platformu — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Multi-Carrier EasyPost Shipping Methods & Address Validation for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Billbee – Auftragsabwicklung, Warenwirtschaft, Automatisierung 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 iGen SEO 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 shipcloud for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Easylox for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 TrackingMore Order Tracking for WooCommerce (Free plan available) 700+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #16 8 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.