wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “login background”

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 “login background”, 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

Login Armor shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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 signals wp.org

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #1 1 too high 3

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #3 4

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #4 ↑2 5

Custom Login Page Customizer 80K+ · 4.8★ (410) not PHP-current wp.org #5 6

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too low 8

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #16 ↑3 8 too low 9

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #17 ↑1 8 too low 10

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13

Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Custom Login 10K+ · 3.6★ (97) wp.org #9 5 too high 15

Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓3 8 too high 16

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #19 1 too low 19

Sky Login Redirect 2K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20

OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓6 22

Kaya Login Captcha 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 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.