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← Rankings

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

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 help tabs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Responsive Tabs For Elementor shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #3 4 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #4 5 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #6 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #10 11 Custom Product tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Admin Help Docs 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Responsive Tabs 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Product Tabs Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Add Admin CSS 10K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.