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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dns proxy”

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 “dns proxy”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Use Bunny DNS shows at wp.org #2 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 50 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 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too low 8 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 Show IP Address 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Use Bunny DNS 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 ES Football Bypass for Cloudflare 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Kitgenix CAPTCHA for Cloudflare Turnstile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓6 5 too low 19 Fail2WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 D DNS Manager for Cloudflare 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 All in One Content Protector & Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 Octanist 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 WatchTowerHQ 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Force login to make the site private – Gozer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.