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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple ssl”

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 “simple ssl”, we agree with wp.org 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

JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 578 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 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #1 2 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #2 3 SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) wp.org #5 6 One Click SSL 10K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #6 7 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 Flexible SSL for CloudFlare 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 Simple Job Board 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #17 18 Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too high 19 JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 WP Free SSL 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 Simple Digital Clock 🕒 500+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Simple Blog Card 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Simple SSL Redirects 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Simple Force SSL 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.