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

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 column”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Simple Menu Order Column shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #1 2 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #2 3 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #3 4 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 N Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns 500+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Purchased Items Column for WooCommerce Orders 700+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 S Simple Menu Order Column 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Last Users Order Column for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 WP All Export – Order Export for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #23 24 D Display Order Details 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24

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.