Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 interface”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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 #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Simple Custom Post Order places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 587 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 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #4 5 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too low 6 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too high 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #22 ↓3 13 too low 10 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 Post Category Filter (WP Admin) 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Add Admin CSS 10K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Admin Bookmarks 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Admin Robots.txt Editor 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑2 9 too high 20 CDI – Collect and Deliver Interface for Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Hide WP Admin Notifications 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 WP Admin Audit 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23 C CMB2 Admin Extension 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Simplify Admin Menus 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑3 6 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.