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

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 “restriction”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

WP User Profile Restriction shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 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 #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 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 signals wp.org

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #1 2

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #2 3

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 4

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #11 ↓3 5 too low 7

Simple Page Access Restriction 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too high 8

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #20 ↑2 9 too low 12

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↑6 3 too high 14

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #18 ↑5 3 too low 16

Page and Post Restriction 1K+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17

WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19

s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too high 20

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓6 4 too low 21

WP User Profile Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22

Restrictions for BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23

SureMembers – Membership & Content Restriction Plugin 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24

Advanced Email Domain Restriction 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 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.