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

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 number”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 10 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

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 538 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #1 2

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 3 too low 3

Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.8★ (29) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #6 7

WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9

Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10

Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #23 ↓2 12 too low 12

Serial Numbers – Ultimate License Manager for Selling, Licensing & Securely Delivering Digital Content with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (78) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 2 too high 13

Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 2 too high 15

Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16

TrackShip for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.7★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17

Kybernaut IČO DIČ 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18

Store Exporter – Export WooCommerce Products, Orders, Subscriptions, Customers 6K+ · 4.1★ (166) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 1 too low 19

SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #22 3 too low 20

EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓6 1 too low 21

WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too high 22

Edroz Libro de Reclamaciones 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24

QR payment for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews 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.