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← Rankings

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

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 “waitlist”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 7 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

Bandsintown Events shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 291 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #1 2 Waitlist Woocommerce ( Back in stock notifier ) 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Notifima – WooCommerce Stock Manager, Inventory Management, Waitlist 2K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 MoreConvert Wishlist for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #14 ↑6 6 too low 9 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 Load More Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (275) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 YITH WooCommerce Waitlist 3K+ · 3.2★ (26) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #21 ↓6 8 too low 14 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Product Tabs Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #15 ↓3 16 Product Watermark for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.7★ (55) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Pagination Styler for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Cozy Blocks – Website Builder & Business Growth Toolkit | Popups, Lead Forms & Inbox 6K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Wishlist and Waitlist for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20 Products Compare for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Conference Scheduler 200+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 23 Bandsintown Events 4K+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Waitlister – Waitlist & Pre-Launch Forms 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 7 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.