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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disable howdy”

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 “disable howdy”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

MC Good-bye Howdy shows at wp.org #2 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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

IgnitionDeck Crowdfunding Platform places #10 on merit, 3.7★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too low 5 Ultimate Client Dash 2K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #5 6 Nexter Extension – Security, Performance, Code Snippets & Site Toolkit 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #6 7 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 AGCA – Custom Dashboard & Login Page 20K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 IgnitionDeck Crowdfunding Platform 100+ · 3.7★ (90) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 No Nonsense 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 MC Good-bye Howdy 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 Text Replace – Find and Replace WordPress Strings 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 UltimaKit – Admin Enhancements, Security, Optimization & Site Tweaks 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Quiet Admin – Hide Admin Notices, Disable Comments, Clean Dashboard & More 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Howdy World — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 SlimPress – Disable Unused Features, Heartbeat & XML-RPC 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 S Site Cleanup Controls 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Feature Flipper 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 C Core Feature Control 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 FlashSpeed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Arik Admin Screen Customizer — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Comfortable Admin Page 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.