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

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 reset”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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.

Ranked above its merit

Teydea Password Reset – Force Password Reset & Expiration shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #1 2 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 Disable User Password Reset Admin Notifications 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 ↑1 4 too high 7 Frontend Reset Password 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 MASS Users Password Reset 500+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #3 ↓1 6 too high 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 ↓2 10 too low 11 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #16 ↑4 5 too low 12 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #13 ↑6 1 too low 13 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #17 ↑7 4 too low 14 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #22 ↓6 8 too low 15 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 WP Database Reset 5K+ · 4.5★ (68) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Password Reset with Code for WordPress REST API 800+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓3 19 Teydea Password Reset – Force Password Reset & Expiration 500+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 15 too high 20 Emergency password reset 800+ · 3.4★ (12) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Disable Password Changed Admin Email 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Direct Password Reset Link | Share a password reset link to the user 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.