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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “limit access”

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 “limit access”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Restrict Website Access shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ 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

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #1 2 Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #2 3 WP Limit Login Attempts 10K+ · 4.6★ (300) wp.org #3 4 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #4 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Limit Attempts by BestWebSoft – WordPress Anti-Bot and Security Plugin for Login and Forms 4K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #5 ↑11 3 too high 9 Simple Page Access Restriction 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #21 ↓4 10 too low 12 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ · 4.3★ (66) wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too high 14 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #17 18 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too high 21 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Restrict Website Access 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 16 too high 23 Order Limit for WooCommerce (Free Version) 800+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓4 9 too high 24 Order Minimum/Maximum Amount Limits for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #24 ↓4

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.