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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “maintenance message”

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 “maintenance message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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.

M

Ranked above its merit

Minimal Maintenance Mode shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 900+ 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.

Buried gem

Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page & Under Construction places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 317 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 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Slim Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 5.0★ (63) wp.org #3 4 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #11 ↑2 7 too low 5 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #5 6 Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #6 7 Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page 100K+ · 4.3★ (282) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page & Under Construction 10K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode by Colorlib 5K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #20 ↑1 7 too low 14 Coming soon and Maintenance mode 8K+ · 4.2★ (83) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Maintenance mode for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 Maintenance Mode Made Easy 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Lite Maintenance Mode 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Labinator Minimal Maintenance Mode 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 M Minimal Maintenance Mode 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 Amitry Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Simple Maintenance Mode White Screen 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Glow: maintenance & support management for agencies 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.