Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “frontend 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 “frontend admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Frontend Dashicons shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #2 3 WCFM – Frontend Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (286) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 WP Frontend Admin – Display WP Admin Pages in the Frontend 400+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too high 10 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Frontend Reset Password 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #15 16 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 My WP Customize Admin/Frontend 8K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Frontend Post Submission Manager Lite – Guest Post and Frontend Submission Forms 1K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Frontend Product Editor for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Frontend Editor ACF 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 Frontend Dashicons 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.