wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ssl fix”
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 fix”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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
Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 87 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 763 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
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 ↑1 3 
WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665)
wp.org #4 5 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 6 
One Click SSL 10K+ · 4.9★ (139)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Flexible SSL for CloudFlare 100K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106)
wp.org #10 4 too high 15 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102)
wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too high 21 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 
Simple Force SSL 300+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 
Simple SSL Redirects 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 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.