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

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 “authentification”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

P

Ranked above its merit

PayGreen Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #7 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups places #4 on merit, 4.4★ from 859 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Force Authentification Before Checkout for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #1 2 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #2 3 Swift SMTP (formerly Welcome Email Editor) 7K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too low 5 Authenticator 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Affiliate Super Assistent 1K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 Login Armor 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Toplytics 80+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓4 5 too low 10 CloudFilt Bot & Spam Protection 500+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 Plezi 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓4 7 too low 12 myEasyCompta – Invoicing, Accounting & Quotes Plugin for WordPress 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 WP Steam Auth 70+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓3 10 too low 14 P PayGreen Payment Gateway 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Publicator Helper 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓2 7 too high 16 Webo-facto 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 Kubelio Companion 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 UiCore Elements – Free widgets and templates for Elementor 40K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 POWR Popup 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 Leadfox for WordPress 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓5 3 too high 21 AiVOOV – Realistic Text to Speech & AI Voice Generator Online 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22 Password Strength Requirements for Woocommerce 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Fusion Web App 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 S SG Autorepondeur Comment 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.