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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “account flagging”

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 “account flagging”, 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

Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android places #7 on merit, 4.2★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #1 2 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #4 5 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 BoltAudit – Site Speed Audit and Performance Insights 90+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #8 9 Product Reviews & Photo Reviews for WooCommerce – Yuko 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #9 10 B Bitron Right of Withdrawal 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Comments by FastComments – Live, Privacy-First Comment System 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 13 OGEEAT 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Atomic Edge Security – Firewall, Malware Scan and Login Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Fake User Detector 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 SiteFort Security – Malware Scanner, Firewall, Login Security & Hardening 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Wholesale Customers For WooCommerce 60+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 BugHerd 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Klarvo AI Transparency for EU AI Act 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 BetterShield – Security Audit, 2FA, Passkeys & Login Protection 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑3 2 too high 22 Baxtersweb Credit Packs – Prepaid Credits for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 WP Supra – Maintenance & Support Utilities 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker 300+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #10 14 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.