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

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 “unwanted”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

DS CF7 Math Captcha shows at wp.org #5 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Download Manager places #6 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 2

Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #2 ↑6 3

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too low 6

Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Smart Archive Page Remove 6K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #7 ↓3 8

IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) not PHP-current wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Responsive Gallery Grid 4K+ · 4.7★ (66) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 D DS CF7 Math Captcha 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑2 6 too high 12

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #20 5 too low 16

Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Cookies and Content Security Policy 10K+ · 4.9★ (67) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #13 6 too high 20

Multiple Columns for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 6 too high 21

LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Paste As Plain Text By Default 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Dashboard Cleaner 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24

Remove Schema 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current 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.