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

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 “lock”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

Lock Last Modified Date shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

File Manager places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 1492 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 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #1 2 Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #2 3 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #4 ↑6 1 too high 6 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #14 ↑10 8 too low 7 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too high 10 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #22 ↓4 10 too low 13 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #17 ↓16 4 too low 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #3 ↑4 12 too high 16 UiChemy – Convert Figma, Prompts and AI Builds to Elementor, Gutenberg and Bricks 8K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 Post Lockdown 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Lock My Site 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Age Gate Lite 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too low 20 Advanced Menu Manager Pro – Built for Content-heavy WordPress Sites to Add, Filter, Lock, and Edit Menus Easily 400+ · 3.7★ (22) wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too low 21 Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24 Lock Last Modified Date 80+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.