Genesis Simple Menus
by StudioPress · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 7 other plugins · 64.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
With Genesis, Simple Menus allows you to select a WP menu for secondary navigation on posts, pages, categories, tags or custom taxonomies.
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
B 84/100
no flags
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+22%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “menu” and “navigation” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
84 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.5%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 130.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,188 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities 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 1 release 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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 151 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 11 reviews, smoothed to 4.23★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →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.
33
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.4
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
5%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| genesiswp your tag | #5 | #6 | 0 |
| studiopress your tag | #6 | #8 | down 1 |
| menus | #7 | #17 | down 1 |
| genesis your tag | #10 | #15 | down 1 |
| menus per pages | #5 | #13 | down 1 |
| navigation menus | #6 | #12 | down 1 |
| wordpress menus | #8 | #17 | down 1 |
| custom menus | #8 | #20 | down 1 |
| page menus | #8 | #18 | 0 |
| genesis plugin | #9 | #15 | 0 |
| secondary menu | #10 | #16 | 0 |
| genesis wp | #10 | #17 | — |
| simple menu | #22 | #23 | 0 |
| menu your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| navigation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
20 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 13 listed. 7 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “menu” and “navigation” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.5K · 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
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v1.1.4 · 2 Jun 2026
16
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 91% 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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 12 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 1 May 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ darkpollo7.9y ago
A clever solution that gives a lot of flexibility to any project. You can ignore the notification of updates. It works perfect with 4.9.8 WordPress and 2.7.1 genesis.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Cyndi9.5y ago
Has this been abandoned? It’s being used in some themes and it’s broken. 🙁
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ stifoo9.7y ago
Great Plugin! This topic was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by stifoo. Reason: problem solved
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ thebuilder10.1y ago
This plug-in is a nice addition. I thought I was going to have to write some custom css. Thank you, Genesis!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ robmin11.7y ago
Couldn’t be happier! Very easy to use, simply create menus and assign them in the page/post editing screen.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ surya89012.0y ago
thanks for this superb plugin…
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Todd S. Jones12.2y ago
I was contracted to redesign the site of a [ link redacted, please do not post links in reviews ]. I used it to display all secondary nav items within each section of the site.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ resolit12.2y ago
Great plugin, thanks very much!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.1.4 Support Genesis 3.6 and higher. Fix term Navigation drop-downs to display selected menus. 1.1.4
- — Version 1.1.3 Genesis Simple Menus now uses its own update mechanism from WP Engine servers (except for the version deployed to WP.org). 1.1.3
- — Version 1.1.2 Bump the minimum required PHP version to 8.1. 1.1.2
- — Version 1.1.1 Fix issue where menus were not displaying when set to the default option. 1.1.1
- — Version 1.1.0 Add option for primary navigation. Test with WordPress 5.2.2. 1.1.0
- — Version 1.0.1 Fix Coding Standards issues. Restructuration of files. 1.0.1
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 6 languages, 4 at 90% or more
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "With Genesis, Simple Menus allows you to select a WP menu for secondary navigation on posts, pages, categor..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 422 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "genesiswp", "studiopress" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-11-19 3K+ → 2K+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2025-11-16 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-11-15 3K+ → 2K+ down after 351 days in tier
- 2024-11-29 4K+ → 3K+ down after 201 days in tier
- 2024-05-12 5K+ → 4K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-11 4K+ → 5K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-10 5K+ → 4K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-09 4K+ → 5K+ up after 1 days in tier
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).
-
Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags B -
Genesis Connect for WooCommerce 10K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B -
Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B - G Genesis Featured Widget Amplified 2K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D
- G Genesis Sandbox Featured Content Widget 1K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D
- G Genesis Visual Hook Guide 700+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Genesis Simple Menus into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/genesis-simple-menus" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Genesis Simple Menus — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Genesis Simple Menus: 2K+ active installs, 4.8★ (11 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/genesis-simple-menus
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