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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “notification box”

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 “notification box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ 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

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #1 2 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #2 3 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 40K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #3 4 Notivo Notification for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (80) wp.org #4 5 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 WP Notification Bell 700+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 PiWeb Live sales notification for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.1★ (29) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 HollerBox — Fast & Effective Popups & Lead-Generation 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Publish Post Email Notification 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑2 9 too high 23 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 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.