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

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

EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager places #8 on merit, 4.3★ from 281 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 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #1 2 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #2 3 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #3 4 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 5 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #14 ↓3 9 too low 6 Autocomplete WooCommerce Orders 30K+ · 4.6★ (137) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #20 ↓1 12 too low 9 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #9 10 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.7★ (70) wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12 Supplier Order Email 300+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 WFatture for WooCommerce Fattureincloud 700+ · 4.9★ (37) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Checkout Files Upload for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 New Order Notification for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Ultimate Order Combination 300+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 GazChap's WooCommerce Purchase Order Payment Gateway 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 23 Aruba Fatturazione Elettronica 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 ChaChing – New Order Notifications for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 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.