wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “temporary access”

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 “temporary access”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Almost Ready Temporary Page shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 40+ 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

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #1 2

Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #2 3

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 ↑5 3 too low 6

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑4 2 too high 9

Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645) wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #21 ↑2 10 too low 12

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 11 too low 13

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

Machete 6K+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Temporary Login 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #7 8 too high 16

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #19 ↓13 3 too low 17

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 3 too high 18

Database Access with Adminer 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20

Advanced Country Blocker 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 21

Almost Ready Temporary Page 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑3 12 too high 22

Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site 100+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑2 23

Temporary Access 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24

Bifröst – Instant Passwordless Temporary Login Links 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2

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.