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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shipping methods”

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 “shipping methods”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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.

E

Ranked above its merit

Estonian Shipping Methods for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MultiParcels Shipping For WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 62 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 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WC Hide Shipping Methods 20K+ · 4.2★ (44) wp.org #1 ↑2 1 too high 3 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5 Colissimo shipping methods for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.7★ (28) wp.org #3 ↓2 2 too high 6 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Custom Shipping Methods for WooCommerce – Create Weight based Shipping, Conditional Shipping, Table Rate Shipping and much more 3K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too low 12 MultiParcels Shipping For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (62) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too low 14 No Shipping Message for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #18 ↓5 3 too low 16 Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 E Estonian Shipping Methods for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 WC – APG Weight Shipping 6K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Shipping Method Display Style for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 ELEX Hide WooCommerce Shipping Methods 1K+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑5 8 too high 22 Shipping Live rates for Canada Post for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 GLS Shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓9 8 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.