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

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 notices”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 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

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 3 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #9 ↑14 3 too low 7 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Hide admin notices – Admin Notification Center 7K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #13 ↓6 4 too low 10 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #20 ↓8 10 too low 11 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #15 ↓7 4 too low 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #10 ↑4 2 too high 13 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Cart Notices for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #22 ↓3 5 too low 18 Simple Admin Language Change 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Unnotifier — disable admin notices individually 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 Hide WP Admin Notifications 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 16 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.