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

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 closed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Store Opening Closing Hours Manager shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 142 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (188) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Ebook Store 700+ · 4.4★ (60) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1717) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (580) wp.org #7 ↑4 2 too low 6 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (249) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #12 ↓7 2 too low 11 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #6 ↓2 5 too high 12 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #17 ↑4 5 too low 13 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 100K+ · 4.8★ (290) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 Store Opening Closing Hours Manager 300+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↓1 13 too high 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Google Sheets Sync, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (50) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Next-Cart Store to WooCommerce Migration 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 CommerceBird – Multi-store Dashboard, ERP Integrations & B2B for WooCommerce (Zoho, Exact Online). 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode 60K+ · 3.6★ (44) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Store Hours for WooCommerce 2K+ · 2.8★ (30) wp.org #13 ↓3 8 too high 22 Easy Digital Downloads – Store Hours 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓6 23 Easy Map – Store Locator, OpenStreetMap & Google Maps 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 Storepoint Store Locator 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.