wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide links”
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 links”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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 Link | Really hide links to robots shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 251 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.
WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111)
wp.org #1 2 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #2 3 
Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #20 12 too low 9 
WC Hide Shipping Methods 20K+ · 4.2★ (44)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251)
wp.org #24 13 too low 12 
Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
MM Title Manager — Hide Page and Post Titles 10K+ · 4.4★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Easy Affiliate Links 6K+ · 4.2★ (34)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ · 3.6★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39)
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Hide Tooltips on Hover – Clean Up Title Attributes Without Losing Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Hide Cart Functions 3K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Hide Link | Really hide links to robots 100+ · 4.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
Hide Archive Label 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 
Hide Author Archive 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 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.