wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “woocommerce notes”

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 “woocommerce notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 9 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 #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 303 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #1 ↑1 2

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 4 too low 3

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too low 4

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5

Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8

Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too low 9

WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↑4 3 too low 10

Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 4 too low 11

Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #5 6 too high 12

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 9 too low 13

Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 9 too low 15

WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑2 8 too high 16

Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17

Pinterest for WooCommerce 200K+ · 2.3★ (68) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑2 8 too high 18

Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19

WooCommerce Square 80K+ · 2.1★ (121) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too high 20

Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 21

WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 8 too high 22

ShipStation for WooCommerce 40K+ · 3.3★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 23

WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24

WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1

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.