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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dismiss notices”

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 “dismiss notices”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 400+ 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

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3025 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 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (366) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1658) wp.org #2 3 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WPS Notice Center 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 CookieFox – Cookie Notice 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (725) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3025) wp.org #24 ↓2 15 too low 10 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (78) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (87) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (94) wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 2K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #17 18 Announcement & Notification Banner – Bulletin 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Pinned Feed Notices for BuddyPress 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 Notice Vault – Hide, Manage & Organize Admin Notices 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Sticky Banner 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 The Viking Auto Dismiss 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 NoticePulse — Notification Bar, Announcement Bar & Cookie Notice 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 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.