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

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

Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Booking.com Reviews 9K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #1 2 Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Cryptocurrency Payment Gateway 400+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Country Block – Ultimate Geo-Blocker, IP Ban & Login Security 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #4 5 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 Pollify – Feedback Polls, Anonymous Polls, Up/down Voting, NPS Surveys, Export data 60+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Loyal Security – Firewall & Malware Scanner 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 ANON::form embedded secure form 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 ShieldClimb – Card Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts and Chargeback Protection 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑3 6 too low 12 ShieldClimb – Crypto Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 BotFend Anti-Bot Firewall 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Forge12 Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, 2FA & Login Security 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑3 1 too high 15 humanID – Anti-Spam Comment Filter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Onionify – Onion Service for WP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Dialogity Free Live Chat 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Bastora Security Audit 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Cypress North Password Policy — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security 20+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Owl Security 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Sectorize – Custom Author Archives & Collective Authorship — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Keel Defaults 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Scudo Security — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.