wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide site”
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 site”, 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 Shipping Method For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Simply Static – The Static Site Generator places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 195 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.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 2 
WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111)
wp.org #2 3 
Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376)
wp.org #3 4 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #12 6 too low 7 
Easy Hide Login 20K+ · 4.4★ (43)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #17 ↑3 8 too low 10 
NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279)
wp.org #19 ↓4 9 too low 11 
LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195)
wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 
Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #13 ↑1 14 
MM Title Manager — Hide Page and Post Titles 10K+ · 4.4★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 
MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 
My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓4 4 too low 17 
Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins 10K+ · 4.3★ (30)
wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19 
Hide Tooltips on Hover – Clean Up Title Attributes Without Losing Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 
WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 9 too high 21 
Hide Drafts in Menus 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 22 
Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Hide Archive Label 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 
Hide Author Archive 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.