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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “file locking”

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 “file locking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

WPHH SECURE – AIO WordPress Security With File Locking & WP Hide Login shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

W3 Total Cache places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #1 2 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #3 4 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too low 9 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too high 14 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #14 ↑1 15 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 WPHH SECURE – AIO WordPress Security With File Locking & WP Hide Login 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #19 ↑4 1 too high 21 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #22 23 NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 PixelVault – Media Library Folders, Document Library & File Manager 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.