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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove admin 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 “remove admin bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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 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

Remove WP Admin Bar shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ 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 #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #3 4 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 ↓2 9 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #10 11 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Better Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 CiviCRM Admin Utilities 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 Remove WP Admin Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑2 16 too high 23 Admin Bar Fix 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too high 24 MM Admin Bar Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑4 5 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.