wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin lockdown”

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 “admin lockdown”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Site Lockdown Security for MainWP shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30+ 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

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 575 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3

Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #6 3 too low 4

Post Lockdown 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #2 2 too high 5

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #10 ↑7 5 too low 6

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #14 8 too low 7

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #3 6 too high 10

SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #19 8 too low 12

MyCryptoCheckout – Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 100+ altcoins for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13

WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14

Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #11 3 too high 15

Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #20 5 too low 16

AdminEase – All-in-One Admin Toolkit: Security & Performance 60+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17

Site Lockdown Security for MainWP 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 12 too high 18

MyNew Registration Lockdown 50+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 10 too high 19

Adminkeep – Site Lockdown & Admin Enhancements 70+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 10 too high 20 X XMLRPC Lockdown by AO Digital 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too high 21

SMNTCS Admin Maintenance 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22

Holographic Client Lockdown — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Brightery File Lockdown — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Cleverhog Malware Scanner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.