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← Rankings

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

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 update”, we agree with wp.org 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

RS Remote Site Manager shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Unlimited Elements for Elementor places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) wp.org #3 ↑3 3 too high 7 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #18 ↑1 10 too low 9 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too low 10 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #19 ↓8 8 too low 12 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #21 ↑3 7 too low 15 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too high 16 Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 WP BrowserUpdate 1K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Import CDN-Remote Images 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 WP Remote Thumbnail 60+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 RS Remote Site Manager 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 15 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.