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

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 notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2354 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 D Dashboard Notes 500+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #13 ↓5 3 too high 17 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too high 20 System Dashboard 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓3 3 too high 21 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 JAMP Notes (Just Another Memo Plugin) 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Admin Page Notes 700+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓3 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.