Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “trap”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 322 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 wp.org
1 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #1 2 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #2 3 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Anti-spam Reloaded 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance 5K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too high 8 WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Custom Contact Forms 6K+ · 3.5★ (171) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Ajaxified Cart 300+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 DeBounce Email Validator 300+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Alt Text Generator AI – Auto Generate Alt Texts with AltPilot 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 IL Privacy & Cookie Consent 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 wp2pgpmail 80+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 PopupReply for Contact Form 7 100+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 EU Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 J JTZL's Bot Maze 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑5 8 too high 23 EDH Bad Bots 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑3 8 too high 24 AB Age Gate 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.