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

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 cleanup”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Hide WP Admin Notifications shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 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

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #5 6 Admin Slug Column 5K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #23 ↓2 16 too low 8 Plugins Garbage Collector (Database Cleanup) 10K+ · 4.4★ (92) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Reveal IDs 40K+ · 5.0★ (61) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #12 13 Admin Bookmarks 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Admin Page Spider 1K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 Admin Dashboard Last Edits 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Cleanup Action Scheduler 1K+ · 3.2★ (6) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Customize Admin 3K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Cleanup Orphan Images 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓3 5 too high 20 Unnotifier — disable admin notices individually 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Editor Cleanup For Elementor: clean up and solve plugin conflicts with the Elementor editor 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 Hide WP Admin Notifications 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 Admin Optimizer – Performance, Security & Site Cleanup 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Editor Cleanup For Oxygen: FDP add-on to cleanup the Oxygen editor 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓4 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.