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

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 “incident”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WPLifeCycle – Free PHP Version Info & Website Manager shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Einsatzverwaltung 1K+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Login Armor 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too high 8 LiveAgent – Omnichannel Help Desk & Live Chat Software 400+ · 4.2★ (32) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 WebTotem Security 800+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 ↑2 10 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too low 11 Uptime Monitoring for WordPress – My Website is Online 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too low 13 Segurium – Free Malware Removal & Auto Cleanup for Hacked Websites, Antivirus Scanner, Vulnerability Alerts 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Sportsteam Widget – Football livescore 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 Who Changed It? – Activity Log & Audit Trail 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 Malcure Security Suite 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 WPLifeCycle – Free PHP Version Info & Website Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Security Ninja For MainWP 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Cricket Live Score 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Incident Agent — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Activity Track – User Activity Log & Security Monitor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 AIFORYA Activity Log 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 SecurynAI – Security, Firewall, Malware Scan, and Vulnerability Alerts 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.