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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mobile 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 “mobile bar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Mobile Call Now & Map Buttons shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Max Mega Menu places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 882 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #3 4 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 6 Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #16 ↑3 7 too low 10 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #23 ↓9 9 too low 15 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 Freetop – Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Mobile Call Now & Map Buttons 4K+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Notice Bar 700+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.