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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “terms ordering”

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 “terms ordering”, 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

Terms Order WP – Categories And Taxonomies Order Plugin shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ 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

FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1815 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 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #3 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 RestroPress – Online Food Ordering System 1K+ · 4.4★ (102) wp.org #6 7 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1238) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Reorder by Term 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Starter Sites & Templates by Neve 100K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #13 14 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #19 20 FoodOrd – Online Food Ordering & Table Reservation System 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 21 Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 DineKit – Restaurant Menu, Online Ordering, Table Reservations & POS 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 T Terms Order WP – Categories And Taxonomies Order Plugin 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Per Category Product Ordering 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.