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

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 “change wp admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

All In One Login shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #2 3

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #3 4

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #4 ↑2 5

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #5 ↓1 6

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #7 8

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9

WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #11 2 too low 10

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #10 ↓1 11

Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13

WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #19 ↑3 5 too low 15

Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #8 9 too high 18

WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #18 ↓5 19

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too high 20

WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22

WP Change Email Sender 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23

Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24

Rename wp-admin login 9K+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.