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

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

AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1915 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #1 2 WP Customer Area 10K+ · 4.0★ (89) wp.org #2 3 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #16 ↓2 10 too low 7 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #17 ↓2 9 too low 9 Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #22 ↓3 12 too low 11 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too low 14 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #20 ↑4 6 too low 15 Post Category Filter (WP Admin) 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too low 16 Hide Admin Bar 20K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #23 ↓5 7 too low 17 Admin Help Docs 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 Affiliate Area Shortcodes by AffiliateWP 2K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too low 20 Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 14 too high 21 Admin Taxonomy Filter 5K+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #24 ↓4 3 too low 22 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 19 too high 23 Customize Admin 3K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 too high 24 Hide WP Admin Notifications 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓2 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.