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

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 “wxr”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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

Substack Importer shows at wp.org #2 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Export Single Post Page 3K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #1 2 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 4 W WP Options Importer 6K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #24 ↓3 20 too low 5 WolkTools Dry Run Importer — · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 WPGeared Better Export 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 7 ForthFocus Atom XML Converter for Blogger™ 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Migravo WXR Media Migration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 Substack Importer 1K+ · 2.8★ (4) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Page Exporter Lite 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Articla Lite Bulk Publisher — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 11 too low 12 Pure Demo Importer 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 QuickExport: Single & Bulk Post/Page Exporter 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 S Simple Single Post Exporter 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Supan Backup – Full-Site WXR Export & Disaster Recovery — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Tehnika Media Exporter & Cleaner 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Scientific and Interactive Blocks – inseri core 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 P Published Posts Exporter 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Website Recovery Importer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Eizport — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Armandi Content Sync — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 LUX Content Migration – WordPress Migration, Export & Import Tool — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 Comments – EchoThread — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Migratik – Migrate & Export Any WordPress Site — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.