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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “toggle admin menus”

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 “toggle admin menus”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Admin Options Pages shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #5 6 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #13 ↓3 5 too low 9 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #20 ↑3 10 too low 11 Admin Page Spider 1K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #9 ↑4 3 too high 13 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #14 15 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Admin Options Pages 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Comfortable Admin Page 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.