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

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 “ips”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. 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★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

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

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too low 4

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8

Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #13 ↑5 4 too low 10

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #10 ↑4 11

Block IPs for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 7 too high 12

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #23 10 too low 14

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #15 ↓4 1 too low 15

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Server IP & Memory Usage Display 20K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 I IP Based Login 600+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #19 20

Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #12 8 too high 21

User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

GDPR Tools: comment ip removement 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23

IP Geolocation 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

IP Locator 500+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.