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

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 “transportation”, 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

Distance Based Shipping Calculator shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget places #5 on merit, 4.5★ from 103 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Bus Ticket Booking with Seat Reservation 700+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Gelato Integration for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too low 6 Rox Appointment Booking – Event, Calendar & Appointment Scheduling 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 ↑3 2 too high 7 Appointment Booking Calendar 1K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 School Management System – WPSchoolPress 1K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 Schema Package – Structured Data & Rich Snippets Tool for SEO 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #20 ↑2 9 too low 12 Multipurpose Ticket Booking Manager (Bus/Train/Ferry/Boat/Shuttle) 60+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 Live Shipping Rates Australia for woocommerce – Get real-time shipping rates for your store 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too high 14 Freight Integration for Woocommerce to Profrakt and Logistra by WildRobot 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Distance Based Shipping Calculator 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 RestroFood Lite – Online Food Ordering and Restaurant Management Plugin For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 Small Package Quotes – Unishippers Edition 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Chauffeur Booking 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Cab fare calculator 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Small Package Quotes – USPS Edition 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 LTL Freight Quotes – TForce Edition 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 LTL Freight Quotes – XPO Edition 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 AlphaPay for WeChat Pay, Alipay, UnionPay, and Credit Card（微信支付，支付宝，银联，信用卡支付） 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 ABP Transport Booking — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.