wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “customizer export”

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 “customizer export”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Customizer Reset – Export & Import shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 3213 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 signals wp.org

Customizer Export/Import 100K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #1 2

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 500K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1076) not PHP-current wp.org #9 5 too low 5

Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Import / Export Customizer Settings 50K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #2 6 too high 9

Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 3 too high 11

Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3213) wp.org #22 10 too low 13

Email Customizer for WooCommerce | Drag and Drop Email Templates Builder 9K+ · 4.3★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 7 too high 14

WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (282) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Custom Login Page Customizer – Login Designer 30K+ · 4.8★ (150) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Post Snippets – Custom WordPress Code Snippets Customizer 20K+ · 4.6★ (93) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 4 too high 19

Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 20K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #15 4 too high 20

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #19 1 too high 21

Customizer Reset – Export & Import 900+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #10 11 too high 22

Ocean Extra 500K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Hreflang Customizer 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Advanced Export 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.