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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “webshell”

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 “webshell”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20.

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.

T

Ranked above its merit

Thessley Security Hardening shows at wp.org #20 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 B Batch REST Guard 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Moatline Malware Scanner 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Hanu Malware Guard — · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Deep Malware Cleaner 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Zen Site Security 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Nova Scan Lite – Malware Scanner, Backdoor & File Integrity — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Luketom Compromise Review 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 Malroot Security 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 Lunexia Security – .htaccess Shield, Firewall, Two Factor Authentication (2FA) & Malware Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Genisoft Security Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 JAT Shell Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Vortix Web Security — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 FreshRepo – Official Repository Reinstaller & Integrity Restorer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 ScanForge File & Theme Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 CoreSeal — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 BrunLabs Sentinel AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Bulwarden 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 TeraServer Clinic Scan & Repair Kit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Papy3D WAF — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 FBS Secure Optimize – Speed Optimization, Security Headers & Malware Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 T Thessley Security Hardening — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.