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

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 “xls”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Import into Easy Property Listings shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 838 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #1 2 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files 50K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Store Exporter – Export WooCommerce Products, Orders, Subscriptions, Customers 6K+ · 4.1★ (166) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 too low 9 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 XL NMI Gateway for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.8★ (8) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 Estatik Real Estate Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (187) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Icon Element – Icon Pack for Elementor Page Builder (6718 icons) 40K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 WP All Export – Product Export Add-On for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too high 17 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Default Attributes for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Export All Posts, Products, Orders & Users | WP Ultimate Exporter | WordPress CSV Export 6K+ · 3.2★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Order Export for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.8★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Import into Easy Property Listings 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Export Media as ZIP 3K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Import Users & Customers with Meta | WP Ultimate CSV Importer Add-on 5K+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.