Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 url”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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.

B

Ranked above its merit

Basic URL ShortCodes shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ 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

Admin Custom Login places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 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 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #2 3 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #3 4 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #20 ↓5 10 too low 11 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Admin Slug Column 5K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #13 14 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #16 ↑5 17 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #24 ↓16 5 too low 20 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 W WP Force Lowercase URLs 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Rename wp-admin login 9K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓4 7 too high 23 B Basic URL ShortCodes 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 Advance Canonical URL 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) 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.