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

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 “wp admin bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Remove Admin Bar logo shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ 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

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #2 3 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #22 ↑1 11 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too low 19 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #21 22 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 Remove WP Admin Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.