wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin ajax.php”

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 “admin ajax.php”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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

Smart Admin Assistant shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Media Library Assistant places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 202 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #1 2

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178) wp.org #4 5

WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #5 6

WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #19 11 too low 9

Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 4 too low 10

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #8 3 too high 12

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 A Admin Bar & Dashboard Access Control 3K+ · 4.7★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 8 too high 15

DebugPress: Debugger in Popup 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #17 1 too low 17

Super Ajax Search 40+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too high 18

SuperFlare Cache – Cloudflare Cache & Auto-Purging 70+ · 4.4★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 5 too low 19

Fast Fuzzy Search – WordPress & WooCommerce Live Search 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20

AdminEase – All-in-One Admin Toolkit: Security & Performance 60+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 21

Admin Country Allowlist 80+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too high 22

Limited Admin Menu Access by URLs 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Heartbeat Controller 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #10 14 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.