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

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 “numbering”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Greek VAT & Invoices for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Accordion – AI-Powered FAQ & Accordion Blocks, Product FAQ places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #3 4 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 SuperFaktura WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Easy Accordion – AI-Powered FAQ & Accordion Blocks, Product FAQ 70K+ · 4.9★ (358) wp.org #22 ↓2 13 too low 10 Ads.txt File Manager By Magicbid 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Footnotes Made Easy 2K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Flexible PDF Invoices for WooCommerce & WordPress 6K+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 WowInvoice – PDF Invoices & Packing Slips 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Greek VAT & Invoices for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 Contasimple 200+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 E-Invoicing For WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Footnotes & Content 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Magic Export & Import 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Invoice for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 HT Portfolio – WordPress Portfolio Plugin for Elementor 300+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 PDF InvoiceX 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 R2K Terms Copier 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.