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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “work 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 “work orders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 25 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 #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Autocomplete WooCommerce Orders 30K+ · 4.6★ (137) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #2 3 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #3 4 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too high 8 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #8 9 Phone Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Filter Orders by Product for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 Smart Online Order for Clover 1K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 PRENA – Product Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Block Specific Spam Woo Orders 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 WC Search Orders By Product 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.