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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “verify age”

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 “verify age”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

AgeWallet – Age Verification & Age Estimation for WordPress & WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10+ 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

iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Age Gate 40K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #1 2 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Marijuana Age Verify 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #23 19 too low 5 Age Verification & Identity Verification by Token of Trust 30+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 CPS | Age Verification 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Easy Age Verify 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Age Verification for your checkout page. Verify your customer’s identity 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Identity Verification for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Packeta 8K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 Didit Verify 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑2 9 too high 17 AgeOnce Age Verification for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 Product Disclaimer For WooCommerce 80+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #18 19 LandTech Extras for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 BlueCheck – Age Verification 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 AgeWallet – Age Verification & Age Estimation for WordPress & WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑10 10 too high 22 Pretty Simple Popup Builder 300+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 XYZ Age Verification — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 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.