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

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 user”, we agree with wp.org 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

View User Metadata shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ 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

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #18 ↑2 9 too low 10 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Limit Login Attempts Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA, Firewall & Login Security 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #21 ↓4 9 too low 13 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #22 ↓20 8 too low 15 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #20 ↓4 5 too low 16 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 WP User Profiles 200+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 WP User Groups 600+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 WP User Profile Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Lock My Site 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too high 22 WP User Activity 200+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 View User Metadata 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Lock Bad User 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 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.