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

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 numbers”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 10 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

Custom Order Status for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 32 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 #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #8 9 Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.8★ (29) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #24 ↓2 13 too low 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #10 ↑10 2 too high 13 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #21 ↑3 5 too low 17 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Serial Numbers – Ultimate License Manager for Selling, Licensing & Securely Delivering Digital Content with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.