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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “orders list”

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 “orders list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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

Repeat Order for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 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 #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #2 3 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #3 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #6 ↑6 1 too low 6 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Filter Orders by Product for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Order List Table Elementor Widget for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #16 8 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.