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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “authorize ip”

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 “authorize ip”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

WC Moneris Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 154 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 WP Show Site by IP 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 PeachPay — Payments & Express Checkout for WooCommerce (supports Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, NMI) 300+ · 4.2★ (33) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Virtuaria Payments with PagBank for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 CoffeeCode – Checkout for Getnet and WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 GR Widget – Google Reviews Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 Connect Elementor Forms to Google Sheets Addon 700+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Leadpages 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 WC Moneris Payment Gateway 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Products Showcase – Shopify Integration 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 DevDome Affiliate Manager: Amazon Affiliate Plugin for Amazon Associates 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Jotform – Widgets for Google Reviews 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 NMI for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.