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

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 “abuse”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gwolle Guestbook places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 113 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 wp.org
1 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 2 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #2 3 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #6 7 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too low 8 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too low 9 Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113) wp.org #21 ↓7 12 too low 10 Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #3 ↑1 9 too high 13 Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (96) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 RTMForm – Contact Form, Multi-Step Forms & Form Templates for Elementor 30K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too high 17 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 WP Login Form 7K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19 Dynamic Front-End Heartbeat Control 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 Disable XML-RPC Pingback 60K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 12 too high 23 Captcha by Yandex for Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 2 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.