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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email obfuscation”

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 “email obfuscation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Email No Bot – Prevent bots from detecting emails shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ 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

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 1668 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Email Address Obfuscation 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too low 6 Pixeline’s Email Protector 900+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #7 8 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Ebook Store 700+ · 4.4★ (60) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Email No Bot – Prevent bots from detecting emails 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Cryptex | E-Mail Address Protection 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 MailArchiver 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 WhoKnew Shield — Email, Phone & Address Security 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 10 too high 21 Protect My Infos 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 RobArt Email Guard — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 RawType Order Exporter — Spreadsheet & CSV for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #23 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.