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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove wordpress 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 wordpress toolbar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Emoji Toolbar shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 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

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #5 ↑3 2 too low 4 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #4 5 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #9 10 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too low 15 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Show Current Template 100K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 WPScan – WordPress Security Scanner 8K+ · 3.8★ (28) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 Emoji Toolbar 2K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 Remove WP Admin Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24 Remove layout destroying HTML-Tags 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.