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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tax redirection”

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 “tax redirection”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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.

Ranked above its merit

PayZen for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Download Manager places #9 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #3 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #4 5 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #5 6 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #6 7 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #13 ↑6 5 too low 9 Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #15 ↓5 6 too low 10 Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 TrueBooker – Appointment Booking and Scheduler System 600+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Blaminhor Essentials – SEO, Cache, Backup, SMTP, Redirects, Broken Links, Cookie Banner, Hide Login & More 80+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑6 6 too high 17 Payment Gateway for WooCommerce with Stripe – by Pay Addons 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Cart2Cart Universal Migration App 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 PayZen for WooCommerce 600+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 Express Payment For Stripe 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Simpler Checkout 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 OVP-Sponsorizare — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Worldline Online Checkout 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Bitcoin payment for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.