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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “script blocking”

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 “script blocking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Kansleri Cookie Consent shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #3 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #6 ↑6 7 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #13 ↑5 3 too low 11 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too low 14 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑5 3 too low 16 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #10 ↓5 6 too high 17 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too low 18 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 S Scripts To Footer 7K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓4 24 CookieRay – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (GDPR/CCPA Compliant) 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 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.