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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ban 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 “ban ip”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

YOP Poll places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 452 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 #4 2 too low 3 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452) wp.org #15 ↓6 6 too low 10 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 400+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 11 too high 17 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots 1K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↑5 20 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 Country Block – Ultimate Geo-Blocker, IP Ban & Login Security 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #22 ↓4 23 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Fraud and Scam Detection For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 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.