wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide wp admin”
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 wp admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 WP Admin Notifications shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 3K+ 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.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 2 
WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111)
wp.org #2 3 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #3 4 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 
WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #12 ↑1 13 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Easy Hide Login 20K+ · 4.4★ (43)
wp.org #14 ↑6 2 too high 17 
Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 19 
Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins 10K+ · 4.3★ (30)
wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 
Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) 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 #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 
WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Hide WP Admin Notifications 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 17 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.