wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin menu”
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 menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Easy Hide Admin Menu Items shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 367 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.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #6 ↑15 7 
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 
Admin Menu Search 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #12 ↓5 3 too low 10 
Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109)
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 
WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too high 14 
Wider Admin Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 
Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99)
wp.org #19 ↓7 4 too low 16 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27)
wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 
Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45)
wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too high 21 
Remove admin menus by role 8K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 
Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 
Hide Admin Menu 10K+ · 4.9★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too high 24 
Zodan Mini Admin Menu 90+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.