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

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 website”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Right Click Disable for Secure shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 3 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #11 ↑3 12 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #13 ↑3 14 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #14 ↑9 15 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16 WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too high 20 Filr – Secure document library 700+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Secure Encrypted Form 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Secure Downloads 600+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Website Toolbox Forum 70+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #23 24 Right Click Disable for Secure 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.