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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “order attribution”

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 “order attribution”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 7 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

Shulman UTM Attribution for Elementor shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 20+ 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

Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 158 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #1 ↑6 2 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too low 3 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too low 4 HandL UTM Grabber / Tracker 10K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too low 5 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 Smart Online Order for Clover 1K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #15 ↓4 7 too low 9 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #14 ↑4 4 too low 11 WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #2 ↓1 9 too high 12 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 WholesaleX – Wholesale Pricing & B2B Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 TrueROAS AI Ad Attribution 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 Affilia – Affiliate Program 500+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓5 3 too high 17 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Shulman UTM Attribution for Elementor 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 Pinterest for WooCommerce 200K+ · 2.3★ (68) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21 Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 CQI Referrer Attribution 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 Multi-Touch Attribution for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 O Order Filter by Source for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 5 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.