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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “store api”

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 “store api”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

SteadFast API shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too low 4 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #8 ↓2 9 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Ultimate Store Kit – Store Builder Addons for Elementor, WooCommerce Store Builder, EDD Store Builder 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 Ebook Store 700+ · 4.4★ (60) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 MStore API – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Cloud 2K+ · 3.7★ (21) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Reseller Store 1K+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Store Locator Widget 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 WooCommerce Legacy REST API 400K+ · 1.5★ (29) wp.org #12 12 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.