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

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 “hacks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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.

C

Ranked above its merit

Cornerstone shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) 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 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #5 ↑5 1 too high 7 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #9 ↑2 10 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Additional Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (162) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #23 ↓14 11 too low 13 The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver 300+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too low 16 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #19 ↑5 2 too low 18 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Paste As Plain Text By Default 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 Ajax Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (39) wp.org #21 22 Comment Experience by Progress Planner 500+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 C Cornerstone 20K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 Freemius for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.