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← Rankings

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

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 style”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Disable Global Style shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Widgets for Google Reviews places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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 Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #2 3 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 bbp style pack 6K+ · 4.9★ (100) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 6 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Style Kits for Elementor 10K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) 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 4 too high 12 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Add Admin CSS 10K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #19 20 CiviCRM Admin Utilities 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Admin Custom Font 900+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Disable Global Style 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 Customize Admin 3K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #18 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.