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

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 “safeguard”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Reoon Email Verifier shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1146 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #2 3 SafeGuard Media Protection 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Jetpack VaultPress Backup 20K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too high 13 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 SafeGuard DRM Protection 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 Reoon Email Verifier 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Auto Delete Applications – Add-on for HireZoot 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑2 10 too high 24 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.