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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “time based encryption”

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 “time based encryption”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

DoLogin Security shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #2 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #3 4 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule 10K+ · 4.0★ (128) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #6 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19 Free Live Chat Support 500+ · 4.0★ (26) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 VdoCipher: Secure Video Player and Hosting 2K+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 WP Document Revisions 2K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓15 1 too low 23 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More 10K+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #18 6 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.