Advanced Sidebar Menu
by Mat Lipe · Uncategorized
Also makes 1 other plugin · 100K+ installs across the portfolio →
Fully automatic sidebar menus.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 87/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈15K estimated
Momentum
-30%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “menus”, “page menus” and “hierarchy” for “sidebar”, “children” and “custom sidebar”. “menus” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidebar” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “page menus” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “children” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “hierarchy” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #11. “custom sidebar” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
87 health vs 58 average across 25,756 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.7%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 1.4M lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,774 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 7 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 70 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.5★ over 37 reviews, smoothed to 4.27★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
40
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
22%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| sidebar menu | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| sidebar menu plugin | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| sidebar menu widget | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| menu based sidebar | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| sidebar | #5 | #7 | down 1 |
| sidebars your tag | #9 | #11 | 0 |
| category menus your tag | #10 | #11 | down 3 |
| post sidebar | #4 | #6 | 0 |
| sidebar post | #4 | #6 | — |
| hierarchy your tag | #11 | #13 | 0 |
| wp sidebar | #5 | #7 | up 1 |
| sidebar plugin | #5 | #10 | up 1 |
| children | #9 | #8 | up 2 |
| custom sidebar | #11 | #14 | down 2 |
| wordpress sidebar | #7 | #11 | 0 |
| page sidebar | #7 | #10 | down 1 |
| page menus your tag | #22 | #20 | down 2 |
| category menu accordion | #8 | #10 | 0 |
| automatic menu | #8 | #9 | 0 |
| menu | #23 | #20 | down 1 |
| menus your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
139 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 108 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “menus”, “page menus” and “hierarchy” for “sidebar”, “children” and “custom sidebar”. “menus” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidebar” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “page menus” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “children” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “hierarchy” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #11. “custom sidebar” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “hierarchy”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 29.1K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
7
releases in the last 12 months
2mo ago
latest release · v9.8.6 · 24 Aug 2026
180
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 56% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 23 months ago; the previous band took 3.4 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 18 May 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tomsugar12.1y ago
I downloaded and installed it , and while there wasn’t an option of floating icons I wanted, it got the job done
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ WillOfTheWeb2.6y ago
The pro version of this plugin is a disaster. As soon as you activate it, it renders your menu items invisible. Also to get the full benefit of it you have to install the Classic Sidebar plugin as the block version is terrible.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ omigosh3.3y ago
I’d love to have a plugin like this but I can’t make it work. Best I can do is make a list of categories, but I can’t get it to list individual posts within a category. Tried everything. Nothing works. Not even sure if it’s supposed to display individual posts in a category. There’s no information in what might be laughlingly called ‘Documentation’. I spent a large chunk of my day trying to make this thing work and it simply does not work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ EleanorR Greenawalt4.1y ago
Thanks to developers, I just got what I wanted!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ deeholzman4.5y ago
This plugin is extremely helpful in organizing our large site side navigation with many sections and sub sections. It’s also very customizable and easy to set up. It’s extremely well thought out and can be used right out of the box or heavily customized.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ zihniates5.0y ago
Not working at twentytwentyone theme.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous5.0y ago
Advanced Sidebar Menus is a nice little plugin that does what it says it does right out of the box. All you have to do is place the correct widget (for page hierarchy OR post category hierarchy) in the right location. Good job!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nickshepherd5.5y ago
This is great, I’m using this plugin on a site with more than 100 pages and half a dozen categories. Previously to have different links on different pages. I made multiple sidebars. Keeping track in the widget area was work, with lots of clutter. Returning to a site made months before to change something was a bit daunting. This is so simple, if you are using pages, use the child parent relationship and for posts categories. I use the default sidebar and two widgets, simple, clean, straightforward… As long as I link the page with a parent or post with a category it’s all automatic…
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 9.8.5 Harden node security and resolve dependabot security alerts. Required PRO version 9.10.1+. Tested to WordPress Core 7.0.2 9.8.5
- — Version 9.8.4 Improve page ordering defaults. Officially support PHP 8.5. Tested to WordPress Core 7.0. 9.8.4
- — Version 9.8.3 Added JSON serialization to block attributes. Improved block attribute translation naming. Removed temporary common attribute filters. Tested to WordPress Core 6.9.0. 9.8.3
- — Version 9.8.2 Fixed the display of the “Show on single posts” option in category blocks. 9.8.2
- — Version 9.8.1 Introduced ‘advanced-sidebar-menu/pages/general-after’ slot fill. Updated expired @todos in PHP docs. 9.8.1
- — Version 9.8.0 Updated Node.js to version 22.21.1. Killed the JS block attribute handler. Updated ESLint rules to version 5 and fixed all suggestions. Combined WidgetWithId into the Widget interface. Required PRO version 9.9.0+. Tested 9.8.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 128 languages, 1 at 90% or more
Plus 104 more locales with partial translations.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
5 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description is 30 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Elementor, Gutenberg, Beaver Builder.
- ✓ Headings and lists 12 headings and 9 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 5,832 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("hierarchy", "page menus", "sidebars" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-12-06 20K+ → 10K+ down after 1248 days in tier
- 2021-07-07 30K+ → 20K+ down after 1300 days in tier
- 2017-12-15 20K+ → 30K+ up after 613 days in tier
- 2016-04-11 10K+ → 20K+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Widget Menuizer 600+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B - W WooSidebars 100K+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag C
-
User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Shortcode in Menus 50K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Advanced Sidebar Menu into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/advanced-sidebar-menu" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Advanced Sidebar Menu — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Advanced Sidebar Menu: 10K+ active installs, 4.5★ (37 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/advanced-sidebar-menu
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