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← Rankings

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

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 link”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Almost Ready Temporary Page shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 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

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 321 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too high 10 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 Login Me Now – Passwordless, Magic Link, OTP & Social Login for WordPress 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 Temporary Login 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too high 18 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too high 19 Almost Ready Temporary Page 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Bifröst – Instant Passwordless Temporary Login Links 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Erdo Draft Links – Share Drafts, Client Preview, Secure Link 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 Link Invoice Payment for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Fraud and Scam Detection For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.