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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “controlled 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 “controlled access”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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.

Ranked above its merit

Limited Admin Menu Access by URLs shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10+ 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

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #2 3 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #15 ↑4 5 too low 11 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too high 18 Limited Admin Menu Access by URLs 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↑1 15 too high 19 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 Library Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Open Access SSO 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Mikesoft TeamVault 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 REST API Guard 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 BotCreds Agent Access 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 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.