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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “strength”

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

Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ 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

Dynific Addons for Elementor (formerly Anywhere Elementor) places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 104 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 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #1 2 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #2 3 Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Dynific Addons for Elementor (formerly Anywhere Elementor) 70K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 Image Alt Text 10K+ · 5.0★ (56) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Epeken All Kurir for Woocommerce 400+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #17 ↓4 1 too high 19 Password Strength for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too high 20 N No Weak Passwords 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 Product Category 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 WPC Variations Table for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.