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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “obfuscate admin”

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 “obfuscate admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

PowerSuite Modular Admin Toolkit shows at wp.org #7 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Email Address Encoder places #11 on merit, 4.2★ from 160 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #4 5 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #5 6 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 WP Extended – Modular WordPress Toolkit 600+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Pixeline’s Email Protector 900+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 PowerSuite Modular Admin Toolkit 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 UltimaKit – Admin Enhancements, Security, Optimization & Site Tweaks 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 Activity Guard – Security Scanner, Activity Log with IP blocking 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 SecureFusion – Security and Firewall by Fyndsoft 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Version Cloak 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Protect My Infos 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 24TT Login Security and Brander 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Contact Camo 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 RationalCleanup 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Font Type Tester 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 INI Protector 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 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.