Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide items”

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 items”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 Menu Items by Role shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Disable Gutenberg places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 735 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too low 6 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #16 ↑3 10 too low 7 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 MM Title Manager — Hide Page and Post Titles 10K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #22 ↑1 12 too low 11 Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 A Adminimize 100K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 Hide Drafts in Menus 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Hide Dashboard Notifications 20K+ · 3.9★ (33) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Hide Cart Functions 3K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 Missing Menu Items 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Hide Menu Items by Role 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22 Hide Category by User Role for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 My Wp Brand – Hide menu & Hide Plugin 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Hide Archive Label 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 14 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.