Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “phone 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 “phone orders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 9 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

Softech Country Phone Validator shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 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 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #7 ↓3 3 too low 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 too low 9 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11 Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #19 ↑2 7 too low 13 Phone Validator with Flags for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Simple Business Directory – AI Powered 300+ · 4.9★ (62) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #24 ↓6 9 too low 16 Art WooCommerce Order One Click 4K+ · 5.0★ (36) wp.org #22 ↓7 6 too low 17 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 F4 Shipping Phone and E-Mail for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓7 3 too high 21 Softech Country Phone Validator 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Export Orders for WooCommerce – AI & MCP for Claude and ChatGPT 500+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Phone Button 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24 Order Chat for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓4 4 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.