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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “side 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 “side cart”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 5K+ 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

XT Floating Cart for WooCommerce places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 149 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #1 2 Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 XT Floating Cart for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (149) wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too low 5 Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #12 ↓5 7 too low 6 Ajax Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (39) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 CartPops – WooCommerce Side Cart, Cart Drawer & Cart Popup 4K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Fast Cart – Ultralight Ajax Side Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Cart Popup for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.4★ (70) wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too low 12 WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too low 13 Add to Cart Redirect for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 Cart Notices for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 Instantio — Side Cart & One-Page Checkout for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #15 ↓3 16 StoreGrowth – Upsell, BOGO, Quick View, Direct Checkout & Side Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 ShapedCart – WooCommerce Side Cart, Mini Cart & Floating Cart 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Addonify Floating Cart For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓5 4 too low 19 Cart Lift – Abandoned Cart Recovery for WooCommerce and EDD 900+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Mini Cart for WooCommerce – Side Cart & Fast Checkout 600+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 18 too high 23 UpsellWP Side Cart for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓5 5 too high 24 Product Side Cart For WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 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.