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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “universal login”

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 “universal login”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Duo Universal shows at wp.org #1 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 399 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too low 8 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #19 ↑2 11 too low 9 GAinWP Google Analytics Integration for WP 7K+ · 4.8★ (126) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 U Use Administrator Password 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 Duo Universal 2K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #1 12 too high 14 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 Loginfy – Custom Login Page Customizer 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 12 too high 20 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 bSecure – Your Universal Checkout 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Hide Login Language Selector 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Public Preview URL Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Gatekeep – Universal CAPTCHA & Anti-Spam for All Forms & Comments 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.