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

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 “reconciliation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

WALL ID Pay By Bank shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ 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

Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android places #4 on merit, 4.2★ from 90 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 Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 P Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro on WooCommerce 90+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #17 ↑1 13 too low 5 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 6 Dintero Checkout for WooCommerce Payment Methods 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 OpenPix for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 8 sqrip.ch 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Zaprite Payment Gateway – Accept Bitcoin and Fiat payments in WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Pagou – Payments for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 HBLPAY Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 ووسلام – همگام سازی ووکامرس و باسلام 6K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #12 13 MeSomb for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Sharespine Woocommerce Connector 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 LinkMesh: Semantic AI Internal Links for SEO 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Bob Go Smart Shipping for WooCommerce 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 WALL ID Pay By Bank 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 wallee 400+ · 2.7★ (9) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 POLi Payments for WooCommerce 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 IndexToast – WordPress Indexing on Autopilot 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 TradeSafe Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 SnapScan Payment Gateway 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Cashflows for WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 W2S – WooCommerce to Shopify Sync 80+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.