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

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 “usps”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

WooCommerce Shipping shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 112 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #6 ↑4 7 USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce 8K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Disable Media Sizes 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #15 ↑7 1 too low 15 Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Disable WP Sitemaps 10K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Disable Lazy Load 9K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Shipping Packages for WooCommerce – Dropship from multiple locations like AliExpress, eBay, Amazon, Etsy 900+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Disable Application Passwords 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Live Rates for ShipStation 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22 USPS Shipping for WooCommerce – Live Rates 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 XPS Ship Integration 1K+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Dependent Media Live Rates for USPS 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.