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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “json rest api”

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 “json rest api”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 8K+ 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.

Buried gem

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 195 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 wp.org
1 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #1 2 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #2 3 Get Use APIs – JSON Content Importer 5K+ · 4.9★ (78) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 R REST API Log 5K+ · 3.6★ (24) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 WP REST Cache 10K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #5 ↑4 6 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too high 8 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #17 ↓5 8 too low 10 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 JSON API User 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 WPSSO REST API 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 REST API Guard 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑5 10 too high 22 REST API Manager For ACF 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 REST API blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.