wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user dashboard”
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 “user dashboard”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 4 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
aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder shows at wp.org #13 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #1 2 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #6 ↓2 7 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #8 ↑5 1 too low 8 
Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑2 10 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too high 12 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓6 1 too high 13 
WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too low 15 
Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too high 18 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 5 too high 19 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #21 ↓12 22 
Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 
Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38)
wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓4 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.