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

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 notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Secure Encrypted Form shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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★ (69) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #2 ↑4 1 too high 4 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #4 5 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too high 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #24 ↓4 12 too low 13 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #18 ↑5 4 too low 15 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Frontend User Notes 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 Secure Downloads 600+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 Secure Encrypted Form 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 13 too high 24 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 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.