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← Rankings

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

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

WP Fingerprint shows at wp.org #1 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

EmbedPress places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 307 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 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too low 3 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Login With Ajax – Fast Logins, 2FA, Redirects 10K+ · 4.6★ (167) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too low 6 WP-WebAuthn 2K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Traffic Monitor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10 WP Fingerprint 9K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 CoffeeCode – Checkout for Getnet and WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓7 8 too low 13 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓6 2 too low 14 Biometric Authentication 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 wp2pgpmail 80+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 AI Search for WooCommerce — Semantic & Live Search 80+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓4 8 too low 17 Paytm Payment Gateway 3K+ · 3.1★ (15) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 BitFire Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, Bot Blocker, Login Protection 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 LovedByAI – GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) & AI SEO Plugin: AEO, llms.txt 1K+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Authentry – Face ID, Fingerprint & Passkey Login 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too high 21 WP Flashy Marketing Automation 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 SitePublisher AI 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 R Remove WordPress Version – Hide Generator Meta Tag 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Fraud and Scam Detection For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.