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

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 “protector”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

INI Protector shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20+ 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

UpsellWP – Upsell and Related Products Offers for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 149 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 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #1 2 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Pixeline’s Email Protector 900+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 AI Popup Builder & Popup Maker by OptiMonk 3K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #19 ↓1 13 too low 7 UpsellWP – Upsell and Related Products Offers for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (149) wp.org #20 ↓1 13 too low 8 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 CopySafe PDF Protection – Copy Protect PDF 300+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Simple Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 11 AI Scraping Protector 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 CopySafe Video Protection – Copy Protect Video 100+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 INI Protector 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑2 7 too high 14 Init Content Protector – Anti-Copy, Anti-Scrape, Encrypt-All 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 All in One Content Protector & Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 Bot Protector for PayPal for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Brute Force Protector 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑8 3 too high 18 Sarkar IT Fake Order Protector 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Private Content Login Protector — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Secure Content Protector 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 RIACO Content Protector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 CodingBunny Image Optimizer 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Custom Login Protector – Hide Login URL & Brute Force Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Frequently Bought Together Product For WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.