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

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 “preorders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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 #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 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 #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 55 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Art WooCommerce Order One Click 4K+ · 5.0★ (36) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Show Stock Status for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #5 6 CoDesigner – All in One Elementor WooCommerce Builder 5K+ · 4.4★ (153) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 WPPizza – A Restaurant Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 Disable Email Notifications for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Quick Event Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 PiWeb Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 PreOrders for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Sales Count Manager for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce – PreCart 60+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 Product Feed for Pinterest Product Catalogs 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 WPC Smart Messages for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 SpectroCoin Payment Extension for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 ManageX – Pre-Orders, Product Badges, Buy Now, Quick View, Advanced Cart and More for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 RestockBeacon Preorder & Back in Stock for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Simple PreOrder + Delivery Times — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Configurator for Product Packages by Forge12 Interactive GmbH — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.