wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “folder protection”

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Rename Plugins Folder shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #4 ↓3 1 too low 4

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Limit Login Attempts Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA, Firewall & Login Security 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #5 ↑5 6

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #3 ↑2 3 too high 7

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139) wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #16 ↑4 5 too low 12

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #22 3 too low 20

Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21

WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22

Filr – Secure document library 700+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓4 4 too high 23

Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24

Rename Plugins Folder 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.