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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fail2ban”

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 “fail2ban”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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

Fail2WP shows at wp.org #7 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 100+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #1 2 S Stop User Enumeration 50K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Fail2Ban Redux 7K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 WP fail2ban Blocklist 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Login Delay Shield 60+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #9 10 Cloud Maestro – WAF Security Suite for Cloudflare 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Fail2WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Performance & Security 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 E Ejabberd Account Tools 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 WP fail2ban Add-on for Contact Form 7 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 WP fail2ban Add-on for Gravity Forms 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Steel Security & Hardening – Site Audit Tools 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 SbS Settings 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 WT Hardening 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 BusinessPress 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 AATI WP Finetuning 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Janric Simple Attack Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 T TrapFlux Request Firewall — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 WPS Protect: Login URL & Security Headers — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.