Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

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

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 “preorder”, we agree with wp.org 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

PreOrders for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ 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

WPPizza – A Restaurant Plugin places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 55 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gravity Forms – Edit Entries 2K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #1 2 Show Stock Status for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Art WooCommerce Order One Click 4K+ · 5.0★ (36) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 CoDesigner – All in One Elementor WooCommerce Builder 5K+ · 4.4★ (153) wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too low 7 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 WPPizza – A Restaurant Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 Disable Email Notifications for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Quick Event Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 PiWeb Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.1★ (16) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Sales Count Manager for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce – PreCart 60+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 WPC Smart Messages for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Product Feed for Pinterest Product Catalogs 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 PreOrders for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 SpectroCoin Payment Extension for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 RestockBeacon Preorder & Back in Stock for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Bitnary Preorder Dates for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Pre-Order Timer — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.