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

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 “cybersecurity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

NETSENSAI Shield shows at wp.org #4 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits places #6 on merit, 4.5★ from 212 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #1 2 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #2 3 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #3 4 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Trusty Whistleblowing Solution 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 WPYog News 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Eway Payments for Woo 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 S4E: Effortless & Continuous Cybersecurity — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Vigidomain — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 TisaLabs Predictive Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 NIS2 Compliance 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 RGBmind Ephemere – Temporary Login & Timed Access Control — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 EVelum Safe Browsing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Compliance Audit Trail & Evidence Logger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Banana Defender – GDPR-Compliant Firewall, Scanner & Virtual Patching for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 AI News 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 Guardian Gaze Security – Malware & Database Scanner, File Integrity Monitoring, IP Blocking 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓5 4 too high 22 ncdLabs Assure – Security & Compliance Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 LogiShield Security – Login Security, 2FA, Limit Login, Brute Force Protection, Firewall — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Anaimo AI Assistant — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.