wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post transfer”
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 “post transfer”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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
Post Export Import with Media shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1511 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 
Post Type Transfer 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54)
wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10 
Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 
Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217)
wp.org #11 ↑3 12 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too low 13 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
WP Telegram (Auto Post and Notifications) 30K+ · 5.0★ (426)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #24 ↓6 9 too low 16 Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 9 too high 17 
WP Post Series 600+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #9 8 too high 18 
SmartyParcel – DHL Express, GLS, InPost & Nova Post for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.6★ (56)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too high 20 D Display custom fields in the frontend – Post and User Profile Fields 500+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 
Express, Certified Post, Bike Delivery and Iranian Postal Companies for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Export All Posts, Products, Orders & Users | WP Ultimate Exporter | WordPress CSV Export 6K+ · 3.2★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too high 23 
Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑4 7 too high 24 
Any Post Import Export with ACF 80+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.