wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clean dashboard”

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 “clean dashboard”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

System Dashboard shows at wp.org #11 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1564 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #1 2

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #2 3

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #3 ↑3 4

Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce – Speed Up & Clean Up Admin 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #7 ↑12 8

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #13 ↓3 5 too low 9

Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too low 11

Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #6 ↑3 5 too high 12

Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14

MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15

Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

System Dashboard 900+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18

Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19

ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics 80K+ · 3.6★ (138) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20

UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21

OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Media Export & Clean 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too high 24

Easy Dashboard – Clean Admin Welcome Screen 40+ · 4.4★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.