wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “weight tracking”

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 “weight tracking”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

ShipAny WooCommerce: Ship, Label, Tracking shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1564 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 signals wp.org

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2

Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 6

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #9 ↑6 3 too low 7

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #6 1 too high 8

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #10 ↑8 2 too low 9

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #14 ↑8 4 too low 11

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #18 ↓5 6 too low 13

morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #7 6 too high 14

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15

Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Bulky – Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #17 ↓5 18

Australia Post WooCommerce Extension 3K+ · 4.4★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓3 5 too high 19

SmartyParcel – DHL Express, GLS, InPost & Nova Post for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #22 ↓6 3 too low 20

WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑8 4 too high 21

Easyship WooCommerce Shipping Rates 2K+ · 4.2★ (54) wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22

Shiptastic for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓4 7 too high 23

Packeta 8K+ · 4.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓6 3 too high 24

ShipAny WooCommerce: Ship, Label, Tracking 200+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓3 12 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.