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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dashboard 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 “dashboard admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Admin Dashboard RSS Feed shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Remove Dashboard Access places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 78 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 #3 1 too low 3 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #5 6 Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #6 7 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #7 8 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Admin Dashboard Last Edits 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 UiPress lite | Effortless custom dashboards, admin themes and pages 6K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Simple Admin Language Change 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 A Admin Bar & Dashboard Access Control 3K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #23 ↓5 4 too low 20 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 D Dashboard Commander 800+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Dashboard Cleaner 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Admin Dashboard RSS Feed 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑2 12 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.