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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “replace 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 “replace admin bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 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 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546) wp.org #2 3 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #3 4 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #12 ↑6 8 too low 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Better Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Hide Admin Bar 20K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #19 ↑2 11 too low 9 Simple Admin Language Change 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #20 ↓5 9 too low 12 Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Bottom Admin Toolbar 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 Text Replace – Find and Replace WordPress Strings 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Admin Help Docs 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #10 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.