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

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 control”, 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

Mediavine Control Panel shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2354 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 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #2 3 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #3 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 5 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #5 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #9 ↑9 2 too low 8 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 9 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 A Admin Bar & Dashboard Access Control 3K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #18 ↑5 5 too low 14 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Dashboard Welcome for Elementor 10K+ · 4.1★ (23) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 U Update Control 4K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Video Dashboard 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Dashboard Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 2 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.