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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “copyright protection”

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 “copyright protection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ 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

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft places #11 on merit, 3.9★ from 391 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 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5008) wp.org #2 3 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1133) wp.org #3 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8658) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4340) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (372) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 WP-Copyright-Protection 5K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 CF7 Apps – Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, and Addons for Contact Form 7 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Security Safe 700+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Print, PDF & Email by PrintFriendly 20K+ · 3.8★ (237) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 DMCA Website Protection Badge 1K+ · 3.2★ (19) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Ultimate Watermark – Image Watermark, Image Protection & Bulk Watermarking 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Watermark RELOADED 700+ · 2.8★ (11) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 CopyBlocker Pro – Content Protection 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Easy Disable Source, No Right-click, Image protection and Content Protection 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Bender – Mosaic Image Protection — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.