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

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 “forensics”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

SDP EU Withdrawal for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 50+ 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

Malcure Malware Shield — Removal, Repair, Monitor places #3 on merit, 4.4★ from 74 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPOrLogin – Custom Login, Social Login, Limit Attempts, Hide Login & reCAPTCHA 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 Lead Forensics 5K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Malcure Malware Shield — Removal, Repair, Monitor 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Advanced IP Blocker 2K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Simple Login Notification 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Melapress File Monitor 6K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 PRESSZEUG Forensics 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Autoload Cleaner & Analyser 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Trunc Logging – Auditing syslog for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Forvault Security 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 SecurelyWP – all-in-one security 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Content Guard Pro – Database Malware Scanner & SEO Spam Detector 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Bender – Mosaic Image Protection — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Copyfend – Content Protection, Anti-Copy & Anti-Scraping — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 SDP EU Withdrawal for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 TraceVault Audit Log — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 AI Image & Video Disclosure Labels 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 InkaTrace for Activity & Audit Log — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Inpweb Visitor Counter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 aFFirmFirst Cloud Library — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 H H3SEC Guard – Security Hardening — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 RS Secure Digital Downloads for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 WebCrew Site Detective — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.