Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shortcode express”

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 “shortcode express”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Stitch Express shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 600+ 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

Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 838 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Optima Express IDX 10K+ · 3.2★ (45) wp.org #1 2 WP Express Checkout (Fast Payments via PayPal & Stripe) 1K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #2 3 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.1★ (135) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 PeachPay — Payments & Express Checkout for WooCommerce (supports Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, NMI) 300+ · 4.2★ (33) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Icegram Collect – Easy Contact Form, Subscription Form & Lead Collection Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too low 13 Csomagpontok és Címkék WooCommerce-hez 7K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 PeproDev Receipt Uploader for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Express Payment For Stripe 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Stitch Express 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 14 too high 18 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Express Shop for WooCommerce Product Table 10+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 Block Emails & Addresses for WooCommerce Checkout 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 SMSA Shipping (official) 300+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 CoderEmbassy Express Checkout — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 COD Express Checkout 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.