wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “copy 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 “copy protect”, we agree with wp.org 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 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
CopySafe Web Protection – Copy Protect Images shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #1 2 
Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 
WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Copy Anything to Clipboard for WordPress – Copy Button, Copy Text & Copy Code 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #18 ↑1 11 too low 8 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #10 ↑6 2 too low 9 
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297)
wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓5 1 too low 11 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488)
wp.org #20 ↓10 8 too low 13 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 CopySafe Web Protection – Copy Protect Images 800+ · 4.1★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 10 too high 15 
Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑17 8 too high 16 
CopySafe PDF Protection – Copy Protect PDF 300+ · 3.9★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓5 5 too high 18 
WP Protect Content 1K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 
Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 400+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
CopySafe Video Protection – Copy Protect Video 100+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21 
CopyProof Website 300+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
Simple Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 23 
Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site 100+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 
PDF Password Protect 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.