wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “role maker”

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 “role maker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 438 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More 7K+ · 4.5★ (144) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Survey Maker by AYS 5K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91) wp.org #7 4 too high 12

MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) wp.org #18 6 too low 13

WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

AppMySite – WordPress & WooCommerce Mobile App Builder (No-Code Android & iOS App Maker) 7K+ · 4.3★ (138) wp.org #14 15

Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 40K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #15 1 too high 17

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18

Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #9 9 too high 19

Subaccounts for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20

Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #21 1 too low 21

SaveTo Wishlist Lite – WooCommerce Wishlist 500+ · 4.2★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22

CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too high 23

Custom Site Logo 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

PressPrimer Quiz – AI Quiz Maker, Exam Builder & LMS Assessment Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 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.