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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide admin 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 “hide admin bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability shows at wp.org #4 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #2 3 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too low 6 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Hide Admin Bar 20K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #23 ↓6 11 too low 13 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too high 16 Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #20 ↑4 3 too low 18 Better Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too high 20 Simple Admin Language Change 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too high 21 Hide admin notices – Admin Notification Center 7K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 MM Admin Bar Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too high 24 Admin Bar Fix 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓6 2 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.