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

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 control”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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

Order Status Control for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Groups – Memberships and Access Control places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 382 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #2 3 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #3 4 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #8 9 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #9 10 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Order Minimum/Maximum Amount Limits for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Draft Order Control 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 RSS Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.