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← Rankings

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

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 items”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

Purchased Items Column for WooCommerce Orders shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

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 #2 3 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #3 4 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #4 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #5 6 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #12 13 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Admin Menu Search 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Add Admin CSS 10K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Export Order Items for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Purchased Items Column for WooCommerce Orders 700+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Admin Bookmarks 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 CiviCRM Admin Utilities 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Missing Menu Items 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 3 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.