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

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 code”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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

All In One Login shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Custom Login Page Customizer places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 477 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #2 3

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #11 4 too low 8

LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #12 ↑10 2 too low 11

Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #6 5 too high 12

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (477) wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #13 ↓1 14

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #7 10 too high 18

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

Easy Hide Login 20K+ · 4.4★ (43) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #24 ↓5 3 too low 22

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24

WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) 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.