wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content protect”
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 “content protect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Protect Login shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ 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
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 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.
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #1 2 
Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123)
wp.org #2 3 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 
Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 5 too high 9 
Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103)
wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too high 10 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #7 3 too high 11 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #12 ↑1 13 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #16 ↓6 1 too low 16 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too low 17 
Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑10 3 too high 18 
WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25)
wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 
Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50)
wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 
WP Protect Content 1K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 
Protect Admin 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑6 6 too high 22 Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 
AI Scrape Protect 400+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.