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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “credentials”

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 “credentials”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 60+ 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

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #2 3 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #5 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Active Directory Integration / LDAP Integration 4K+ · 4.9★ (211) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 ↑1 7 too low 14 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too low 16 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too high 17 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Nginx Cache 8K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓5 1 too low 21 Edutain Certificate Validator – Certificate Verification, QR Code & Digital Credentials 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 Admin Credentials Editor 10+ · 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.