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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “protect admin”

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 “protect admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Protect Login shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #3 4 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Protect Admin 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 ↑1 9 too high 14 Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #10 ↑6 4 too high 15 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #14 ↓5 5 too high 20 WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 AI Scrape Protect 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.