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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bottom 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 “bottom bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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

UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) places #2 on merit, 4.9★ from 1198 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. 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 50K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #1 2 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1198) wp.org #9 ↓3 7 too low 3 Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Bottom Admin Toolbar 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Fixed Bottom Menu 5K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (37) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Top Bar 10K+ · 4.0★ (43) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Freetop – Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Catch Scroll Progress Bar 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 TinyBar – Display notification bar, banner, announcement at the top or bottom of your website 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Tambar – Bottom Admin Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 YooBar – Notification Bar & Announcement Bar 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WCBoost – Products Compare 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 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.