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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “view orders”

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 “view orders”, 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

Filter Orders by Product for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 15 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 #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #2 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #3 4 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Post View Count 4K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #11 12 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Filter Orders by Product for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Grid/List View for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (50) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Smart Online Order for Clover 1K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 L List View Google Calendar 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #22 23 WC Search Orders By Product 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.