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

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 orders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Intuitive Custom Post Order places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 139 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 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Afterpay Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.6★ (45) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #14 ↓6 8 too low 7 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Place Order Without Payment for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too low 10 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.7★ (70) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139) wp.org #24 ↓3 12 too low 13 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 PiWeb Cancel order / Refund request for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓7 2 too low 17 YITH PayPal Express Checkout for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Autocomplete for WooCommerce Orders 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.1★ (16) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Purchase Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Generate Random Orders For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Track Orders for WooCommerce – Multi Carrier WooCommerce Shipping 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 11 too high 24 Klarna Order Management for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 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.