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

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 user”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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 User Account shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 ↓2 3 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #10 ↓6 3 too low 8 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #8 ↑3 9 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #7 ↑5 2 too high 10 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too low 13 Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #14 ↑4 1 too low 14 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #19 ↓7 5 too low 15 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #15 ↑7 16 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Block User Account 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #3 ↑1 14 too high 18 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Map Block for Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 GamiPress – Block Users 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓3 7 too high 24 VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.