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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “control access”

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 “control access”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

Better Plugin Compatibility Control shows at wp.org #15 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #5 ↓4 1 too high 7 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ · 4.3★ (66) wp.org #7 ↑4 3 too high 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #16 17 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Better Plugin Compatibility Control 4K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 A Admin Bar & Dashboard Access Control 3K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 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.