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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “api control”

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 “api control”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP Consent API shows at wp.org #1 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200K+ 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

Groups – Memberships and Access Control places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 382 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #13 ↓4 5 too low 9 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #16 ↓5 6 too low 11 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 12 too high 14 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too high 15 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #14 ↑2 1 too high 16 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Dynamic Front-End Heartbeat Control 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #10 ↑2 10 too high 21 MStore API – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Cloud 2K+ · 3.7★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 Image Quality Control | Still BE 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 REST API Guard 200+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.