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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “product sort”

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 “product sort”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

Smart Product Sort shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Custom Post Order places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #3 ↑3 2 too low 2 Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.1★ (45) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Extra Product Sorting Options for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #15 ↑7 9 too low 7 eCommerce Product Catalog 7K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #12 ↓9 5 too low 8 Product Table for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (295) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #19 ↓4 10 too low 10 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 Themify – WooCommerce Product Filter 20K+ · 3.5★ (72) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #11 ↑8 3 too high 15 Ultimate Product Catalog 4K+ · 4.5★ (233) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Product Tabs Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #14 ↓7 2 too high 17 PVT – Product Variation Table for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Product SKU Generator for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Smart Product Sort 30+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑6 13 too high 20 Product Layouts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #21 ↓7 1 too low 21 Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Advanced Product Search For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Currency per Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Bopo – WooCommerce Product Bundle Builder 900+ · 5.0★ (4) 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.