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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unhide”

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 “unhide”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

WP Plugin Filter shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 56 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 Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too low 3 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #3 4 Media Library Folders 10K+ · 4.3★ (465) wp.org #17 ↓1 13 too low 5 Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56) wp.org #19 ↓1 14 too low 6 H Hide/Unhide Menu for Guest/Member 40+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Bulk menu creator 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Greenshift Smart Code AI 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Potent Donations for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #23 ↓1 13 too low 11 Nelio Popups 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 WP-Lister Lite for Amazon 800+ · 3.9★ (22) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 MRW Simplified Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 FoxyShop 70+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 oik batchmove 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Notice Bar 700+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Simplify Admin Menus 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 WP Plugin Filter 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 DFX Feed for Telegram Channels — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20 Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Chris’s Swim Training Progress and Evaluation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Fabrica Dashboard 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 WP Contact Form 7 DB Handler 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 VulnCue 10+ · 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.