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

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 “hacked”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 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

Cleverhog Malware Scanner shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ 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

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #5 6 WPForce Logout – WordPress User Login Logout Management Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #18 ↓2 11 too low 8 AntiVirus 30K+ · 4.1★ (23) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #9 10 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Segurium – Free Malware Removal & Auto Cleanup for Hacked Websites, Antivirus Scanner, Vulnerability Alerts 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver 300+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Host Header Injection Fix 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Emergency password reset 800+ · 3.4★ (12) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 Integrity Checker 200+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 MoeSec Security – Comprehensive Malware Scanner & Security Suite 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 B Batch REST Guard 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 Cleverhog Malware Scanner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Security Headers 800+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Content Guard Pro – Database Malware Scanner & SEO Spam Detector 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.