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

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 “emergency”, we agree with wp.org 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

Emergency password reset shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. 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 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #2 3 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Einsatzverwaltung 1K+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Emergency password reset 800+ · 3.4★ (12) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14 Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Announcement & Notification Banner – Bulletin 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too low 18 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 pCloud WP Backup 1K+ · 2.8★ (20) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Repeater Fields for Elementor Forms 700+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Eway Payments for Woo 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Static Porter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.