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

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

Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ 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

Relevanssi – A Better Search places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 406 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #1 2 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #10 ↑9 6 too low 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #12 ↓3 7 too low 6 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #8 ↑7 2 too low 7 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #19 ↓5 10 too low 10 R Restrict Usernames Emails Characters 1K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Simple Restrict 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #16 17 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 14 too high 18 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Page Restrict for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too high 22 Restrict for Elementor 900+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓3 8 too high 23 Restrict Dates Add-On for Gravity Forms 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24 Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 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.