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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recently viewed”

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 “recently viewed”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Customer who viewed this item also viewed using Woocommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

NextMove Lite – Thank You Page for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 150 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Slider, Product Grid, Product Masonry 9K+ · 4.3★ (86) wp.org #6 5 too low 2 Related Products – Create Upsells, Cross-sells, and Product Recommendations for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce – Carousel, Widget, Block & Email 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #16 ↓3 11 too low 6 ShopLentor – All-in-One WooCommerce Growth & Store Enhancement Plugin 80K+ · 4.5★ (278) wp.org #15 ↓4 9 too low 7 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 NextMove Lite – Thank You Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #20 ↓3 12 too low 9 ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #21 ↓6 12 too low 10 MATE Recently Viewed Products – Cache Compatible for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 CartSuite – Cart All In One For WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (51) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 WowRecommend – Show Recommendations, Related Products, Recently Viewed, and Cross-sells for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 PiWeb Live sales notification for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.1★ (29) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 Customer who viewed this item also viewed using Woocommerce 50+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑1 11 too high 15 Thanko Thank You Page Customizer for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #11 ↓4 4 too high 16 FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 AI Popup Builder & Popup Maker by OptiMonk 3K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Hide Price Until Login 1K+ · 3.5★ (24) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Swatchly – Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Arewa Recently Viewed Content 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 Recently Viewed Products Popup for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 Tab Return Notifier 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Store One – BOGO, Sales Notification, Sticky Add to Cart & Buy Now for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 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.