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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “maintenance 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 “maintenance lock”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Amitry Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Temporary Login Without Password places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 1549 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 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #1 2 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Machete 6K+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #18 13 too low 6 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #13 ↓11 4 too low 10 Labinator Minimal Maintenance Mode 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #21 ↓5 9 too low 13 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too high 14 Lock My Site 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Username Changer 40K+ · 4.3★ (77) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Extendify 500K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20 Amitry Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 AWEOS WP Lock 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 WP Supra – Maintenance & Support Utilities 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Kreiswolke Maintenance Agent Toolkit 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.