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

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 ui”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 5 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 Search shows at wp.org #14 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 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 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #3 4 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #6 7 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #10 11 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #23 ↓4 12 too low 12 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #12 13 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #22 ↓4 6 too low 17 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Admin Help Docs 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 WP Admin Audit 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 AboveWP Admin Dark Mode 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.