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

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 “shipped”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 7 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

Shipped Order in Woo shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ 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

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 816 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #13 10 too low 4 Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178) wp.org #15 ↑1 10 too low 6 Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #17 ↓7 9 too low 9 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #16 ↑4 7 too low 10 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Shipping Packages for WooCommerce – Dropship from multiple locations like AliExpress, eBay, Amazon, Etsy 900+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 Partial Shipment for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too high 14 Confirmed Shipped for WooCommerce – Add confirmed shipped order status 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 13 too high 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Shipped Order in Woo 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 14 too high 18 Shipped – Table Rate Shipping Method | for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Address Book & Multiple Shipping for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Advanced Shipping Validation for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 WSP MCP – Free MCP Plugin for WordPress: Connect Claude, ChatGPT & AI Agents 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Shiptastic for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 12 too high 23 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 Bookvault 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.