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

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 “ssl certificate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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 #8 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 6 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

Simply Static – The Static Site Generator places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 195 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 #3 4 WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) wp.org #7 8 One Click SSL 10K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #10 11 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #12 ↑3 13 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 WP Free SSL 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 WP Healthcheck 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Uptime Monitoring for WordPress – My Website is Online 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 I Inspire Commerce Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Simple Force SSL 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Volixta SSL & Security Headers – Free SSL Certificates, HTTPS & Mixed Content Fixer 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Simple SSL Redirects 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Commerce7 for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑2 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.