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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hold orders”

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 “hold orders”, 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

Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Order Splitter for WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 70 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 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #1 2 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #2 3 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #8 9 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.7★ (70) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Store Exporter – Export WooCommerce Products, Orders, Subscriptions, Customers 6K+ · 4.1★ (166) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Supplier Order Email 300+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Cancel Abandoned Order 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Advanced Autocomplete Orders for WooCommerce – By HappyDevs 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Fraud Prevention For WooCommerce and EDD 4K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 N Ni WooCommerce Custom Order Status 2K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Purchase Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Track Orders for WooCommerce – Multi Carrier WooCommerce Shipping 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Klarna Order Management for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Order Notifications in Messaging Apps for WooCommerce 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.