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

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 monitoring”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Uptime Monitoring for WordPress – My Website is Online shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ 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.

Buried gem

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 80 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #1 2 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 ↑5 4 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too low 9 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 WebTotem Security 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Uptime Monitoring for WordPress – My Website is Online 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 12 too high 18 Free Live Chat Support 500+ · 4.0★ (26) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Migrate to WordPress.com 2K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 21 Management App for WooCommerce – Order notifications, Order management, Lead management, Uptime Monitoring 800+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Volixta SSL & Security Headers 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Scanfully 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WatchTowerHQ 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.