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

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 mode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 202 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #1 2 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #2 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 #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #8 ↑6 3 too low 6 Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page 100K+ · 4.3★ (282) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page & Under Construction 10K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages 8K+ · 4.6★ (202) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12 Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode by Colorlib 5K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 WP Maintenance 60K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 Coming soon and Maintenance mode 8K+ · 4.2★ (83) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Maintenance mode for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Maintenance Mode Made Easy 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Lite Maintenance Mode 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Ultimate Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Under Construction – Gutenberg Block Builder & Landing Page 9K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 M Minimal Maintenance Mode 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Speedx – Maintenance Mode 200+ · 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.