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

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 “serials”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Team Section Block – Showcase Team Members with Layout Options shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 683 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 License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Serial Numbers – Ultimate License Manager for Selling, Licensing & Securely Delivering Digital Content with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #3 4 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #12 ↓4 6 too low 7 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #9 ↑4 1 too low 9 RepairBuddy – Repair Shop CRM & Booking Plugin for WordPress 400+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 LinkBoss – Semantic AI Internal Linking 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Print Anywhere & Create PDFs of Order Receipts, Invoices, Labels & More. 1K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Content Pilot – Autoblogging & Affiliate Marketing Suite 700+ · 3.6★ (36) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Key Manager – Effortlessly sell license keys, game keys, pin codes, gift cards, and more with WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Bangladeshi Payments Mobile – MFS Gateway, QR Code, Advance COD Protection, Thermal POS Invoicing & WhatsApp Suite 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Serial Numbers & License Keys for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓2 9 too high 17 Data Tables – present your data in clean, customizable tables 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Bizuno Accounting – ERP/Accounting/CRM (for WordPress) 10+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Spotrebiteľské práva pre WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 OrderGuard 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Codulon License & Serial Manager Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Felix Serial Number Warranty and License For WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 S Status Exporter 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Team Section Block – Showcase Team Members with Layout Options 1K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #14 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.