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

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 url”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.

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.

H

Ranked above its merit

Hidden Password Protected Pages shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 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 #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #2 3 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #3 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #15 ↑5 7 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #20 ↓4 10 too low 11 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #19 ↓4 7 too low 13 Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #24 ↓3 7 too low 18 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 H Hidden Password Protected Pages 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 AAM Protected Media Files 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 kURL – Short URL Manager for YOURLS 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Public Preview URL Manager 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.