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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “header bar”

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 “header bar”, we agree with wp.org 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

Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 612 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #2 3 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #4 5 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 10 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #17 18 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Freetop – Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Stick My Header for Astra 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement 400+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #12 12 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.