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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “stores”

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 “stores”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

AdRoll for WooCommerce Stores shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #5 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #7 ↑7 1 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 ShopLentor – All-in-One WooCommerce Growth & Store Enhancement Plugin 80K+ · 4.5★ (278) wp.org #10 ↓4 2 too low 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #17 ↓4 8 too low 10 Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #14 ↑6 4 too low 11 Ultimate Store Kit – Store Builder Addons for Elementor, WooCommerce Store Builder, EDD Store Builder 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #24 ↓7 12 too low 13 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 WP EasyCart: Shopping Cart and eCommerce Store 3K+ · 4.5★ (206) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #11 ↑5 6 too high 18 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Ebook Store 700+ · 4.4★ (60) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Whols – Wholesale Prices and B2B Store Solution for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #16 ↓4 5 too high 22 Store Locator for WordPress📍 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 AdRoll for WooCommerce Stores 500+ · 2.5★ (10) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Openpay Stores Plugin 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.