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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “variations radio buttons”

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 “variations radio buttons”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 8 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

WPC Variations Table for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WPC Variations Radio Buttons for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Choosly – Product Variations Swatches for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (76) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 50K+ · 3.7★ (59) wp.org #6 ↑14 2 too low 5 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #8 ↑5 3 too low 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #18 ↓1 12 too low 7 Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 W WC Variations Radio Buttons 3K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Variation Dropdown to Radio Buttons for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↑1 6 too high 10 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Variation Price Display Range for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Swatchly – Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 WPC Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 WPC Linked Variation for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Radio Buttons and Swatches for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 13 too high 18 YaySwatches – Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19 WPC External Variations for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20 WPC Variation Bulk Editor for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 WPC Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 WPC Show Single Variations for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) wp.org #12 ↓2 10 too high 23 Show Variations as Single Products for WooCommerce 400+ · 3.1★ (18) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 WPC Variations Table for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 14 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.