wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin pages”
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 pages”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Admin Options Pages shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ 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.
Buried gem
Page Builder by SiteOrigin places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1005 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.
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 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126)
wp.org #4 5 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #5 6 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 8 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #8 9 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑7 1 too low 13 
Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too high 14 
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79)
wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 
Show Pages IDs 10K+ · 5.0★ (103)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 
View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #17 18 
WP Frontend Admin – Display WP Admin Pages in the Frontend 400+ · 4.9★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Admin Page Spider 1K+ · 4.8★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 
Disable Media Pages 10K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 22 
Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 
Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓7 1 too high 24 Admin Options Pages 500+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.