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

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 “wpscan”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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

PayPlus Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 8654 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 S Stop User Enumeration 50K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WPScan – WordPress Security Scanner 8K+ · 3.8★ (28) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #4 5 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #5 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8654) wp.org #22 16 too low 7 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1552) wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (735) wp.org #24 ↓1 16 too low 9 AI Search for WooCommerce – Semantic Search 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 WPDoctor Malware Scanner & Vulnerability Checker & IP blocker with Hack monitor Lite 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Owl Security 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Turbo Guard – Security & Malware Scanner 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 Site Add-on Watchdog 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑2 5 too high 14 CRA Vuln Notify 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 NIS2 Compliance 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Liveupx Security 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 K Kistn API Client — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Ultimate Security – Vulnerability Scanner, 2FA, and Login Protection 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 WT Hardening 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 W WebOsmotic Diagnostics Dashboard — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Visitor Sentinel — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 PayPlus Payment Gateway 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 DazeStack Bulk Plugin Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 CordonAI Site Health Doctor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.