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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cyber security”

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 “cyber security”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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 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

Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 340 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 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #1 2 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #11 ↑3 7 too low 5 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation 9K+ · 4.5★ (340) wp.org #21 ↓1 13 too low 9 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 WP Customer Area 10K+ · 4.0★ (89) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 Product Badge, Label, Countdown Timer for WooCommerce – Sale Booster 5K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #23 ↓2 9 too low 15 CloudScale Cyber & DevTools 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 WPElemento Importer 8K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑1 12 too high 17 Vulnerability Monitor for the EU Cyber Resilience Act 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 too high 18 Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security 20+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓2 13 too high 19 ConvertForce: Popup, Notification Bar & Slide-in Builder 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.0★ (13) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 RSS Retriever Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 Elohim Cyber Guardian 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Cyber Smart Defence 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 CyberGuard Security Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 5 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.