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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “menus backup”

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 “menus backup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

Ranked above its merit

Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ 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

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 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 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2466) wp.org #1 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4956) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 50K+ · 4.8★ (440) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2614) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 100K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (424) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (292) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1717) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (619) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (185) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (253) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 WP Multilang – Translation and Multilingual Plugin 10K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Menu Backup & Restore + Import/Export 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 13 too high 18 WPML to Polylang 5K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Different Menu in Different Pages – Conditional Menu 3K+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Ocean Extra 500K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24

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.