wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disable wp login.php”

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 “disable wp login.php”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

SiteGuard WP Plugin shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 600K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1077 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #2 3

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #3 4

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #6 7

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #12 3 too low 10

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #20 10 too low 11

WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #7 7 too high 15

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too low 16

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #13 3 too high 17

Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50) wp.org #16 1 too high 18

SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews wp.org #4 14 too high 19

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 3 too low 21

ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 1 too low 22

WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too high 23 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

Rename wp-admin login 9K+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #11 13 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.