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

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 notes”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 538 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 #2 1 too low 2 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #3 4 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too low 10 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Autocomplete WooCommerce Orders 30K+ · 4.6★ (137) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Page & Post Notes 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #4 18 too high 23 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #23 24 RD Order Note Templates for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 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.