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

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

SiteGuard WP Plugin shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 15 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 #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 8864 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5018) wp.org #2 3 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4825) wp.org #5 6 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1483) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4939) wp.org #8 ↑4 1 too low 8 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8864) wp.org #16 ↓5 8 too low 9 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1717) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 WPVibe – WordPress MCP Server. Connect Claude, ChatGPT & Any AI Agent via MCP 50K+ · 5.0★ (96) wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7314) wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI providers 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↑3 9 too high 17 Filr – Secure document library 700+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #11 ↑4 6 too high 18 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 VdoCipher: Secure Video Player and Hosting 2K+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 Secure Downloads 600+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 SiteGuard WP Plugin 500K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #12 ↓4 10 too high 23 Secure Encrypted Form 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 A little more secure 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.