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

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 “blocking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS shows at wp.org #12 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 90 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #5 ↑9 1 too low 5 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #3 ↑3 3 too high 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #7 ↓3 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #9 ↓7 10 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #20 ↓8 5 too low 16 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑7 4 too high 21 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.