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

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 “switch role”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

User Role Switcher shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Temporary Login Without Password places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1550 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 wp.org
1 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #1 2 WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Tax Switch for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Maintenance Switch 800+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1550) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #20 ↑2 9 too low 12 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17 Simple Client Dashboard 2K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20 ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing 2K+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 User Role Switcher 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 Cryout Theme Switch 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 WPC Price by User Role for WooCommerce 200+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #15 9 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.