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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “block bots”

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 “block bots”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Booter – Bots & Crawlers Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 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 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #4 ↑2 3 too high 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #17 ↑3 6 too low 12 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 too low 13 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 Contact Form Block 600+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too high 16 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #22 ↓6 6 too low 17 Booter – Bots & Crawlers Manager 7K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑2 10 too high 19 Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots 1K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too high 20 Block AI Crawlers 2K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑4 7 too high 21 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22 Block wp-login 600+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too high 23 Block Specific Spam Woo Orders 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Form Block 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 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.