Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bar”

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 “bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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 WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #1 2 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #4 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #8 9 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #11 ↓5 3 too high 15 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too high 16 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too high 19 Top Bar 10K+ · 4.0★ (43) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too high 20 Freetop – Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too high 22 WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑2 10 too high 23 SKT Skill Bar 1K+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.