wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website 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 “website migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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 #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 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 #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 2 too high 6

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #6 ↑1 7

Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #15 ↑4 7 too low 9

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 ↑7 1 too high 11

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #21 ↑3 10 too low 12

Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #11 ↑4 1 too high 13

Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too low 14

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #24 10 too low 15

WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16

1-Click WordPress Migration Plugin – Backup, Migrate & Clone 400+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #16 17

Cloudways WordPress Migrator 10K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18

Everest Backup – WordPress Cloud Backup, Migration, Restore & Cloning Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20

Pantheon Migrations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too high 22

InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24

Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 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.