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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payfast”

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 “payfast”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Payfast Gateway for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #2 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 593 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (217) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Payment forms, Buy now buttons, and Invoicing System | GetPaid 5K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (593) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 WCFM Marketplace – Multivendor Marketplace for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (448) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #7 8 Knit Pay – Cashfree, Instamojo, Razorpay, PayPal and more 2K+ · 4.9★ (100) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Sunshine Photo Cart – Client Photo Gallery & Photo Proofing for Photographers 1K+ · 4.7★ (137) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Payfast Gateway for WooCommerce 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Paid Videochat Turnkey Site – HTML5 PPV Live Webcams 20+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Knit Pay Pro – Mercado Pago, CCAvenue, Easebuzz, Thawani 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 PayLexer – Payment Integration Solution for WordPress (Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, and more) 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Ultimate Membership Pro – PayFast 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 DebugPay Toolkit for Payfast — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 ReordeRe Lite – Subscriptions For WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Travel Booking Toolkit 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 ReCurr – Subscription Billing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 LSX PayFast Gateway for Give 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 YeeSubscriptions – WooCommerce Subscriptions & Recurring Payments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Travel Agency Companion – Create Tour & Travel Website Using WP Travel Engine 3K+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #21 3 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.