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

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 “permanent password”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #1 2

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 3 too high 6

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #12 6 too low 7

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #9 2 too low 8

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #7 2 too high 10

bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #8 2 too high 11

BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder 2K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Smart Manager – Bulk Edit for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (288) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #17 18

Web-Art Login Shield with reCAPTCHA 100+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #15 3 too high 19

NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #11 8 too high 20

Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site 100+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #4 16 too high 21

Simple SMTP 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #21 22

PublishPress Shortlinks – The Link Manager for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23 P Permanent User Password — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

SpreadsheetConverter Calculator 500+ · 2.5★ (4) thin reviews 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.