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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “products notes”

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 “products notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #1 2 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Products Per Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #17 11 too low 7 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Bulky – Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce – WP Sheet Editor 10K+ · 4.9★ (228) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Magical Shop Builder – WooCommerce Template Builder for Elementor | Shop, Cart, Checkout & Product Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Show only lowest prices in variable products for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #18 19 Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (29) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Products Showcase – Shopify Integration 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 24 WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #11 13 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.