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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “migration”

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 “migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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.

Ranked above its merit

Tutor LMS – Migration Tool shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.0★ from 1321 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 3M+ · 4.8★ (8627) wp.org #1 2 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7664) wp.org #2 3 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1330) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1633) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 WP STAGING – WordPress Backups, Restore, Migration & Clone 100K+ · 4.8★ (2463) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1535) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4929) wp.org #7 ↓4 8 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (137) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (316) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1321) wp.org #17 ↓5 7 too low 11 WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 LitExtension – Automated Store Migration & Import 1K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 1-Click Backup Migration 400+ · 4.5★ (38) wp.org #15 ↑3 2 too low 14 Pressable Automated Migration 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 DreamHost Automated Migration 20K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Cloudways WordPress Migrator 20K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Pantheon Migrations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑5 8 too high 23 LearnPress – Backup & Migration Tool 5K+ · 3.0★ (16) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.