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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “http basic auth”

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 “http basic auth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ 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

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #1 2 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #2 3 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too low 4 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #6 7 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #22 ↓1 14 too low 9 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 One Click SSL 10K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 C Contact Form 7 to API 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 WPRaiz Content API Tool 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 18 WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Forms Bridge – Infinite integrations 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Wapu Auth – Social Login for WordPress and WooCommerce 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 LittleBig Universal CalDAV for FluentBooking 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Connect WPForm to Any API 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.