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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “online operator”

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

UltimaTour Operator shows at wp.org #2 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Gravity Booster – Styles & Layouts for Gravity Forms places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #1 2 WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #3 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Calculator Builder – Create an Online Calculator 1K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #5 6 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 WP Cassify 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Gravity Booster – Styles & Layouts for Gravity Forms 30K+ · 4.6★ (199) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 WP Hotel Booking 7K+ · 3.7★ (67) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Sliced Invoices – WordPress Invoice Plugin 4K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #21 ↓3 7 too low 15 UltimaTour Operator 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 13 too high 16 VikRestaurants Table Reservations and Take-Away 600+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 BuddyPilot Withdrawal – Easy Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Chaport — Live Chat & Chatbots 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Rezgo Online Booking 300+ · 3.3★ (6) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Carta Online 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 W Webcom Operator Status 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Jotform – AI Chatbot 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 Melu Live Chat 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Skittybop 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.