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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “staging 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 “staging migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Tutor LMS – Migration Tool shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 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

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #1 2 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #2 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #18 ↓1 11 too low 8 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 1-Click WordPress Migration Plugin – Backup, Migrate & Clone 400+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule 10K+ · 4.0★ (128) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #12 ↑3 13 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Pressable Automated Migration 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 40K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Migrate to WordPress.com 2K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 UWH Site Migrator – WP Migration, Backup & Restore 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑3 6 too high 24 Revertix – Backup, Migration, Staging & Clone 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.