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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user certificate”

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

PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 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 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #13 ↑5 6 too low 8 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Academic Certificate Verification – Certificate Management & Certificate Validator 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Edutain Certificate Validator – Certificate Verification, QR Code & Digital Credentials 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21 Certify – Certificate Management & Verification 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too high 22 LM Certificate Publisher 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23 Show Certificates Anywhere for LearnDash 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 PDFDraft – Drag & Drop PDF Builder, PDF Viewer, Embed & Download PDF, Certificate & Invoice Designer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.