Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “remote”, 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

Downloadyar Remote Media shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Site Reviews places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 376 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) wp.org #3 ↑6 3 too high 7 The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #15 ↑5 6 too low 10 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #13 ↑8 3 too low 11 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #16 ↓9 5 too low 12 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #23 ↓4 10 too low 14 Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Import CDN-Remote Images 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 WP Remote Thumbnail 60+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Downloadyar Remote Media 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑2 12 too high 22 RS Remote Site Manager 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Display Remote Posts Block 700+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 WP Remote Site Search 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 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.