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

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 “encrypted”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ 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

Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Secure Encrypted Form 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #7 ↓2 5 too high 13 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #17 ↑4 18 HIPAA Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #14 ↑6 4 too high 19 CopySafe Web Protection – Copy Protect Images 800+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 UWH Site Migrator – WP Migration, Backup & Restore 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 License For Envato 9K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 WP Encrypted Uploads 10+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.