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

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 “sequential”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

QR payment for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 400+ 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

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 250 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 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #1 2 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.8★ (29) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #11 ↑3 5 too low 7 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #7 8 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #10 11 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Catch Infinite Scroll 10K+ · 4.3★ (21) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Chronological Posts 1K+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 TrackShip for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Store Exporter – Export WooCommerce Products, Orders, Subscriptions, Customers 6K+ · 4.1★ (166) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Kybernaut IČO DIČ 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 ESV CrossReference Tool 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 QR payment for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.