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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “password hashing”

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 “password hashing”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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.

E

Ranked above its merit

Email OTP Login shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 91 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too low 3 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too low 4 A Add Password Field for Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 ↑1 5 too high 7 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #24 17 too low 8 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 PHP Native Password Hash 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Passwords Evolved 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 too high 12 RSFirewall! 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 P Post Password Token 600+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 GriffinForms – Contact Form and Form Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Better Passwords 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 PHP Vitals 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Knock First – Password Protect Your Site 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Cypress North Password Policy — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 PreviewFlow 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 Activity Track – User Activity Log & Security Monitor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Login for Stripe Customer Portal | Stripe Billing Login Page | Magic Link Customer Account 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WEBO MCP 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 E Email OTP Login 30+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.