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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shared cart”

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 “shared cart”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Share Cart for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #1 2 Ecwid by Lightspeed Ecommerce Shopping Cart 20K+ · 4.5★ (228) wp.org #2 3 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #3 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #16 ↑1 10 too low 7 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools 30K+ · 4.6★ (535) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Hide Cart Functions 3K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #20 ↑1 9 too low 12 Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 YITH WooCommerce Wishlist 400K+ · 3.9★ (262) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Attribute Stock for WooCommerce – Shared Stock & Variable Quantities (Lite Version) 2K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 WPC Share Cart for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 WPC Smart Wishlist for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #22 ↑2 3 too low 20 Email Inquiry & Cart Options for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Share Cart for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Variation Shared Inventory for WooCommerce 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 Share Cart and Save Cart for Later for WooCommerce by LeanPlugins 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 CartLink Generator for WooCommerce — Direct Checkout & Share Cart Links 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.