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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “link obfuscation”

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 “link obfuscation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Email No Bot – Prevent bots from detecting emails shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ 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

Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 89 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #3 4 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #4 5 Email Address Obfuscation 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Ebook Store 700+ · 4.4★ (60) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Pixeline’s Email Protector 900+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too low 10 Link Juice Optimizer 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Editoria11y Accessibility Checker 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 Cryptex | E-Mail Address Protection 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 JS Links – SEO Link Obfuscation 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Email No Bot – Prevent bots from detecting emails 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Sharing Image 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 WhoKnew Shield — Email, Phone & Address Security 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑5 8 too high 18 Ajax loader + Cache 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Link Obfuscator par Benjamin Thiers — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Protect My Infos 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 24TT Login Security and Brander 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Contact Camo 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 23 Content Guard Pro – Database Malware Scanner & SEO Spam Detector 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #21 3 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.