Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide referer”

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 “hide referer”, 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

MakeITeasy Popup shows at wp.org #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 122 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 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #2 3 Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 La Sentinelle antispam 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 MakeITeasy Popup 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too low 14 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (163) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 Really Simple Under Construction Page – Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode 1K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 BuddyPress Members Only 900+ · 3.7★ (26) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 500+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Mailster for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.8★ (8) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 R Restrict Posts based on Conditions – Conditional Post Restrictions 30+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Smart Traffic Source Filter for WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 Init Void Shield – Zero-DB, Honeypot, Anti-Spam 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 BusinessPress 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑4 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.