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

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 “blacklist”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 6 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

Block List Updater shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 559 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too low 2 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #9 ↑8 5 too low 5 Gravity Forms Email Blacklist 10K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #11 ↑9 5 too low 7 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #14 ↓4 7 too low 8 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #17 ↑4 9 too low 9 Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Comment Blacklist Updater 800+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #19 ↓6 8 too low 12 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 B BSK Forms Blacklist 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Comment Blacklist Manager 500+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 CM E-Mail Blacklist – Simple email filtering for safer registration 700+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Block List Updater 2K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 12 too high 21 Fraud Prevention For WooCommerce and EDD 4K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 SpamLock – Email, Domain & IP Blacklist for Elementor Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Statify Filter 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.