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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “quick order”

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 “quick order”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 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

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #1 2 Quick Featured Images 50K+ · 4.7★ (235) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too low 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #5 ↑14 6 Quick and Easy FAQs 10K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Quick Event Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Bulk Order Form for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too high 14 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 PiWeb Cancel order / Refund request for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #20 ↓6 4 too low 17 Quick Interest Slider 1K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 Quick PayPal Payments: Payment Button & Form 1K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #18 ↓5 19 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑6 5 too high 21 YITH WooCommerce Order & Shipment Tracking 7K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 RD Order Modifier for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 WPC Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #16 8 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.