wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “orders page”
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 page”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Page Visits Counter – Lite shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Page Builder by SiteOrigin places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1005 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 3 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 6 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #6 7 
WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too low 9 
Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #9 10 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #19 8 too low 12 
Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages 8K+ · 4.6★ (202)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 
CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124)
wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 
WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 
Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 15 too high 23 
Filter Orders by Product for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #12 12 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.