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← Rankings

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

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 “addresses”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Auto Capitalize & UPPERCASE Names and Addresses shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #11 on merit, 4.8★ 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 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #3 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too low 7 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Address Book & Multiple Shipping for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #18 ↓9 9 too low 10 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #20 ↓5 8 too low 13 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #16 ↓5 3 too low 14 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 Block Emails & Addresses for WooCommerce Checkout 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Z zipaddr-jp 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑5 6 too high 18 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too high 19 Address Book for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 WC Multiple Email Recipients 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Auto Capitalize & UPPERCASE Names and Addresses 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑5 13 too high 23 Happy Coders Multi Address for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑4 9 too high 24 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓3 9 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.