wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin export”

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 “plugin export”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Import / Export Customizer Settings shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #1 2

WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #2 3

Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #3 4

Customizer Export/Import 100K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #4 5

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7

Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9

Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #11 ↑6 12

Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓5 13

Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14

Export media with selected content (by DKZR) 40K+ · 4.5★ (93) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #21 6 too low 16

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17

Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too low 19

WP All Export – Product Export Add-On for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21

Export Products, Orders & Customers for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too high 22

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23

Import / Export Customizer Settings 50K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24

Export Single Post Page 3K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 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.