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

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 return”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Order Cancellation & Returns for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 8709 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 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #1 2 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #2 3 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #8 9 Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Flexible Refund for WooCommerce – EU One Click Return 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 PiWeb Cancel order / Refund request for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 Withdrawal Button – Easy Return 400+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #15 16 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Minimum Order Amount for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 P Post Order By Category 900+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Order Cancellation & Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 18 too high 23 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Klarna Order Management for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.