wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “customized login screen”

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 “customized login screen”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 4 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

Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 30 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too high 7

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9

Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10

Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #10 ↓2 11

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #14 3 too low 12

WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #12 2 too high 15

Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #9 ↓4 6 too high 16

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #18 ↓4 2 too low 17

PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #17 ↓4 18

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #15 3 too high 19

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20

User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 21

WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22

Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA 100+ · 5.0★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24

BuddyForms Custom Login 30+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓6

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.