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

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 “scraping”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Selective Image Guard | A deterrent for unauthorized downloads and scraping shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 716 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #1 ↑7 2

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #11 ↓4 8 too low 4

WP Review Slider 6K+ · 4.8★ (181) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #10 5 too low 6

GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) heavy footprint wp.org #17 10 too low 8

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #16 ↑6 8 too low 9

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Reviews Widgets for Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp & Recommendations 10K+ · 4.9★ (326) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 4 too low 11

Press This 5K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12

Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance 5K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #19 ↓3 7 too low 13

Kama SpamBlock 4K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #13 14

AI Scrape Protect 400+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 9 too high 15

Block AI Crawlers 2K+ · 4.4★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑4 8 too high 16

AI Scraping Protector 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓2 12 too high 17

Selective Image Guard | A deterrent for unauthorized downloads and scraping 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↓1 15 too high 18

Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑9 3 too high 19

Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20

Known Agents – Track AI Bots and Crawlers, Block Scrapers, Analyze LLM Referral Traffic 1K+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21

Virusdie | One-click website security 2K+ · 4.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

CloudFilt Bot & Spam Protection 500+ · 4.5★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23

Events Calendar for GeoDirectory 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24

Copyfend – Content Protection, Anti-Copy & Anti-Scraping 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 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.