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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “protected site”

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 “protected site”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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.

H

Ranked above its merit

Hidden Password Protected Pages shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ 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.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #1 2 Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too low 5 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #5 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #18 ↓2 12 too low 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #21 ↓1 12 too low 10 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 Password Protected Site and Store 90+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #2 15 too high 18 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 13 too high 21 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 H Hidden Password Protected Pages 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 UWH Site Migrator – WP Migration, Backup & Restore 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 8 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.