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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “http flood”

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 “http flood”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 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 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 2 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Debug 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #9 10 wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Spam Master 200+ · 4.2★ (72) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Bangladeshi Payments Mobile – MFS Gateway, QR Code, Advance COD Protection, Thermal POS Invoicing & WhatsApp Suite 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 DragBlock – WordPress Site & Page Builder with Advanced Blocks 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Orders Chat for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 All in One Content Protector & Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Honeypot Guard – Silent Anti-Spam 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 SpamAnvil – AI Anti-Spam & Comment Spam Protection 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 23 SitePulse – Performance Monitor, Safe Updates & Site Management 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 SecurynAI – Security, Firewall, Malware Scan, and Vulnerability Alerts 40+ · 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.