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

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 “force”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #1 2 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Force Regenerate Thumbnails 200K+ · 4.7★ (186) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #7 8 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 ↑9 2 too low 10 Force Refresh 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #17 ↓4 6 too low 12 Force Authentification Before Checkout for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too low 14 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Force First and Last Name as Display Name 2K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #22 ↓6 3 too low 20 Force Sell for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 W WP Force Lowercase URLs 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Force Update Translations 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Force Reinstall 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #23 ↓6 24 WPC Force Sells for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓3 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.