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

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 rest api”, we and wp.org disagree 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

SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 8K+ 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

The Events Calendar places #10 on merit, 4.2★ from 2461 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #12 ↑5 3 too low 10 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 14 too high 18 Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 REST API Guard 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑4 13 too high 24 REST API blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.