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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove toolbar”

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 toolbar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Emoji Toolbar shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 Show Current Template 100K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #16 ↑3 7 too low 10 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #20 ↓5 8 too low 13 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #23 ↓5 9 too low 15 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #22 ↓5 7 too low 16 Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑1 13 too high 17 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Emoji Toolbar 2K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 14 too high 19 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Remove WP Admin Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Remove layout destroying HTML-Tags 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 Toolbar Cleanup for Divi 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑4 6 too high 24 Admin Toolbar Live Clock 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 6 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.