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

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 monitoring”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Management App for WooCommerce – Order notifications, Order management, Lead management, Uptime Monitoring shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

BlogVault Backup & Staging places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 332 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #2 3

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Super Monitoring 50+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #3 5 too high 9

BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Ninjalytics: Sales Reports & Order Export for WooCommerce and EDD 6K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #9 4 too high 14

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too low 15

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17

WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #17 18

Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19

GSheetConnector – WooCommerce Google Sheets Connector, Export Orders & Products to Google Sheets in Real-Time 3K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #11 8 too high 20

Management App for WooCommerce – Order notifications, Order management, Lead management, Uptime Monitoring 800+ · 4.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #5 15 too high 21

Code Profiler – WordPress Performance Profiling and Debugging Made Easy 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #15 6 too high 22

AntiVirus 30K+ · 4.1★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23

Track Orders for WooCommerce – Multi Carrier WooCommerce Shipping 200+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24

OrderPulse: Auto Refresh Orders for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.