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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pending notification”

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 “pending notification”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

WP Comment Notification shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400+ 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

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 ↑1 3 too high 5 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #17 ↓8 8 too low 10 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #14 ↑5 2 too low 13 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too high 15 Pending Status 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #16 17 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #15 ↑6 2 too high 18 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Publish Post Email Notification 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 WC – APG SMS Notifications 300+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #22 ↓6 1 too low 22 Notifications on Discord for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓5 2 too high 23 WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 16 too high 24 Order Notifications in Messaging Apps for WooCommerce 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.