wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “destination”
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 “destination”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 4 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
No Shipping Message for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 3 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #10 11 
WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #12 ↓2 13 
ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 
Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190)
wp.org #18 ↓7 3 too low 16 
WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 
WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102)
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Shortcode Redirect 10K+ · 4.3★ (31)
wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25)
wp.org #16 5 too high 22 No Shipping Message for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 
Simple Page Redirect 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 
Redirect 404 to Home Page – Custom URL 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓5 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.