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

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 “bypass”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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.

M

Ranked above its merit

Minimal Maintenance Mode shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 900+ 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

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1472) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 ES Football Bypass for Cloudflare 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (403) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #11 ↑6 3 too low 9 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #18 ↑5 7 too low 12 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 WP Cassify 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Simple Login Captcha 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 M Minimal Maintenance Mode 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 Website Open/Closed Toggle 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.