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← Rankings

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

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 “age”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Easy Age Verify shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Age Gate 40K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #1 2 Age Gate Lite 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 3 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #15 ↓6 12 too low 4 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #13 ↑5 9 too low 5 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #16 ↓3 11 too low 6 Complianz – Terms and Conditions 300K+ · 4.9★ (187) wp.org #18 ↓1 12 too low 7 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #22 15 too low 8 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #14 ↑5 6 too low 9 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Marijuana Age Verify 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #7 ↑4 4 too high 12 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #19 ↓5 7 too low 13 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #20 ↓8 7 too low 14 Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Fastest Age Verification 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑2 9 too high 16 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 CPS | Age Verification 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓2 8 too high 18 Easy Age Verify 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Minimum Age for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓2 11 too high 20 Age Verification for your checkout page. Verify your customer’s identity 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 AC’s Retirement Age Calculator 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 User Age Calculator 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 AB Age Gate 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑4 11 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.