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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “text lock”

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 “text lock”, we and wp.org disagree 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

AWEOS WP Lock shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ 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

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too low 3 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #7 ↓6 1 too low 7 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #6 ↓3 3 too high 10 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #12 ↓4 13 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↑1 9 too high 14 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Wbcom Designs – Private Community for BuddyPress 300+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 UiChemy – Convert Figma, Prompts and AI Builds to Elementor, Gutenberg and Bricks 8K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18 Advanced Menu Manager Pro – Built for Content-heavy WordPress Sites to Add, Filter, Lock, and Edit Menus Easily 400+ · 3.7★ (22) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 Snow Monkey Editor 30K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 Branded Social Images – Open Graph Images with logo and extra text layer 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 neo Alt – AI Alt Text Generator for images with bulk processing – Free and No API Key Required 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too high 22 AWEOS WP Lock 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 CopyBlocker Pro – Content Protection 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 M Marquix – Marquee, Scrolling Text & Logo Carousel for Elementor 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.