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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “referer”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Statify Filter shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 La Sentinelle antispam 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #2 3 Block Referer Spam 500+ · 3.4★ (21) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 CP Referrer and Conversion Tracking 300+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #5 6 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 MakeITeasy Popup 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 Rocket Font – 한글 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Affiliate Power – Sales Tracking for Affiliate Marketers 100+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Statify Filter 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Yandex Maps for Gutenberg 300+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 500+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Kaya Login Notification 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Flamix: Bitrix24 and Contact Form 7 integrations 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 R Restrict Posts based on Conditions – Conditional Post Restrictions 30+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #19 ↑3 1 too low 19 L Login by Referer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Log-Hero.com Plugin 40+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Bot Protector for PayPal for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Mephivio Robots LLMs 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 JS Error Logger 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 R Referer Spam Blocker 60+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #17 7 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.