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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sales timer”

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

EZ Countdown Timer shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ 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

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 7322 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 Countix Sales Countdown Timer 5K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #1 2 Finale Lite – Sales Countdown Timer & Discount for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (151) wp.org #2 3 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #4 ↑5 1 too low 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 WPC Product Timer for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Product Badge, Label, Countdown Timer for WooCommerce – Sale Booster 5K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #19 ↑2 7 too low 13 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Evergreen Countdown Timer 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 SALERT – Social Proof Notifications & Live Sales Popup 8K+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 StoreGrowth – Upsell, BOGO, Quick View, Direct Checkout & Side Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 WPC Countdown Timer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 11 too high 18 Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Lucky Wheel for WooCommerce – Spin a Sale 1K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Simple Countdown Timer – Sales, Launch and Event Countdowns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Countdown Timer Block – build urgency for events and launches 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 EZ Countdown Timer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 Salevo Boost Sales for WooCommerce – Set up Up-Sells & Cross-Sells Popups & Auto Apply Coupon 200+ · 3.4★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Store One – BOGO, Sales Notification, Sticky Add to Cart & Buy Now for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑3 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.