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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sample management”

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 “sample management”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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

Free Product Samples for WooCommerce – Try Before You Buy, Request Samples by Mail shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #1 2 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 3 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #3 4 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #6 7 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 Notifima – WooCommerce Stock Manager, Inventory Management, Waitlist 2K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Library Management System 200+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too high 14 Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale 5K+ · 4.0★ (64) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 ATR Cookie Notice 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Product Generator for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Free Product Samples for WooCommerce – Try Before You Buy, Request Samples by Mail 60+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 W WPBase Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Ndizi Project Management 10+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.