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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sensitive content”

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 “sensitive content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Content Unpublisher shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #2 3 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #3 ↑5 1 too high 5 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #6 7 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too low 8 Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (200) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too low 12 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #23 ↑1 11 too low 13 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 ↑3 15 PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ · 4.3★ (66) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Microsoft Clarity 200K+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Easy Accordion Block – Accordion, FAQ & Collapsible Content for the Block Editor 7K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Content Censor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 22 AI Content Writer – Automatic Content Generator and Auto Poster 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too high 23 Content Unpublisher 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑2 14 too high 24 Super SEO Content Cloner 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.