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

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 gate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

VelvetGate – A Luxury-Style Age Gate shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10+ 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

Books Gallery – Book Showcase, Library & Affiliate Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 92 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (387) wp.org #12 ↑8 8 too low 5 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (338) wp.org #15 ↓2 10 too low 6 Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #18 12 too low 7 Marijuana Age Verify 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Books Gallery – Book Showcase, Library & Affiliate Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 FAZ Cookie Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #17 ↓1 8 too low 10 Advanced Age Verification Popup 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Fastest Age Verification 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Easy Age Verify 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Age Verification & Identity Verification by Token of Trust 40+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Age Verification for your checkout page. Verify your customer's identity 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 SKT Addons for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 AB Age Gate 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 AgeOnce Age Verification for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Blockenberg — 600+ Advanced Gutenberg Blocks & AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 VelvetGate – A Luxury-Style Age Gate 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Pay4All Age Verification – For WooCommerce & Pay4All Shop 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder 10K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 XYZ Age Verification — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 AgeWallet – Age Verification & Age Estimation for WordPress & WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.