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

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

T

Ranked above its merit

Themify Store Locator shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #2 3 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #3 4 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #4 5 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Simple Business Directory – AI Powered 300+ · 4.9★ (62) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Store Toolkit – WooCommerce Extensions, Quick Enhancements & Handy Tools 8K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Ultimate Store Kit – Store Builder Addons for Elementor, WooCommerce Store Builder, EDD Store Builder 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 WP Directory Kit 2K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Music Store – WordPress eCommerce 200+ · 4.1★ (52) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Custom WP Store Locator 300+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 WP Map Block – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store & Shop Locator, Directory, Listings & Filters 20K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Store file uploads for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Reseller Store 1K+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 T Themify Store Locator 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Store One – BOGO, Sales Notification, Sticky Add to Cart & Buy Now for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.