wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ip address”

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 “ip address”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

IP Address Approval shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #14 ↓3 8 too low 7

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Server IP & Memory Usage Display 20K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #8 ↑1 9

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #21 ↓5 10 too low 12

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #15 ↑4 3 too low 13

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #23 ↓16 9 too low 15

User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑3 10 too high 16

Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18

Autocomplete Address for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.8★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 6 too high 19 I IP Based Login 500+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too high 20

Autocomplete Google Address 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Show IP address 900+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22

IP Address Approval 100+ · 3.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 16 too high 23 S Show Visitor IP 300+ · 3.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24

IP Address Widget II 100+ · 4.3★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 13 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.