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← Rankings

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

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 “wp filesystem”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Download Manager places #12 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 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 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #1 2 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #2 3 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #3 4 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 WPIDE – File Manager & Code Editor 40K+ · 4.8★ (306) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 Clone 40K+ · 4.1★ (339) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 FG Drupal to WordPress 700+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Block wp-login 600+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too high 19 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 WPHH SECURE – AIO WordPress Security With File Locking & WP Hide Login 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Export Themes 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 WP Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache, Minify & Core Web Vitals 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 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.