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

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 “removal”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ 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

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 Malcure Malware Shield — Removal, Repair, Monitor 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #11 ↓6 5 too low 7 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too high 8 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 MoreConvert Wishlist for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Type Attribute Warnings Removal 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑2 10 too high 16 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Autoremove Attachments 3K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 WPC Smart Wishlist for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21 Segurium – Free Malware Removal & Auto Cleanup for Hacked Websites, Antivirus Scanner, Vulnerability Alerts 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Virusdie | One-click website security 2K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #24

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.