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← Rankings

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

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 “locking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

WPHH SECURE – AIO WordPress Security With File Locking & WP Hide Login shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #1 2 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #2 3 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too low 11 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 WPHH SECURE – AIO WordPress Security With File Locking & WP Hide Login 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 9 too high 15 No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 BotWriter – AI Writer & SEO Content Generator 1K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Z Zone Manager (Zoninator) 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 Screen Stay Awake 60+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Convertful – Your Ultimate On-Site Conversion Tool 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Lockee 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Init Ad Engine – Flexible, Multi-Format, Secure 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 Block Accessibility Checks 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.