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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “php security”

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 “php security”, 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

CloudSecure WP Security shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100K+ 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.

How this rank is calculated

Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.

A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.

A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.

Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5,043) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,720) wp.org #2 3 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398) wp.org #3 4 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3,992) wp.org #6 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 5 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8,870) wp.org #7 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2,409) wp.org #5 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 7 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (158) wp.org #4 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 8 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 9 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #9 10 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (561) wp.org #11 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 11 Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707) wp.org #14 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 12 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #15 ↑6 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 13 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #13 ↑3 14 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #20 wp.org ranks it 6 places below merit 15 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #16 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 16 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #22 wp.org ranks it 6 places below merit 17 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit 18 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #24 wp.org ranks it 6 places below merit 19 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #23 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 20 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #21 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 21 XO Security 30K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #17 ↑5 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 22 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 23 Atlant Security 800+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 5 places above merit 24 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 12 places above merit

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.