Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “private”

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 “private”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

Private Website – Login Required shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1915 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 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 P Private groups 1K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Client Portal – Private user pages and login 3K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Private Google Calendars 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Build Private Store For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 B BP Simple Private 400+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Private Website – Login Required 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑3 16 too high 24 Private Store for WooCommerce B2B & Wholesale by B2BKing 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 14 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.