Menu Cache
by Ryan Hellyer · Performance
Also makes 13 other plugins · 76.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Caches WordPress navigation 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
D 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
60+
≈61 estimated
Momentum
+9%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “cache”, “menu” and “nav” 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.
46 health vs 69 average across 1,808 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.1%
of downloads still active
At least 60 of 74.2K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,103 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Performance plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
51/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- No tested-up-to version. The listing declares no "Tested up to" version.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3987 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
No "Tested up to" declared, treated as a major version behind
5.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3987 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| wpnav your tag | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| cache your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| menu your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| nav your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| navigation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “cache”, “menu” and “nav” 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 63.9K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #19,100 to #20,000, alongside the other plugins at 60+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
10.9y ago
latest release · v1.0.1 · 2 Dec 2015
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “60+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 31 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just over 60.
Install history since 3 Dec 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ General Seed10.7y ago
Efective and works fine, please keep update when need it, now works extra fine, Thanks. Five starts
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ShaOne11.2y ago
Just trying out in staging (had previously had another menu cache plugin in testing which did not deal with menu states), and so far this one appears to be doing all we need it to. Great work!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ryan Hellyer11.8y ago
This is my plugin. I made this as I’ve needed to cache menus on many projects in the past, but never been able to do it whilst keeping the page hierarchy classes intact. This plugin thankfully works around that problem 🙂 It’s not suitable for all websites, but the ones it is useful for, I use it on extensively.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
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
6 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 34 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 9 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 8 of 9 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("use this", "if you want", "if you have").
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 4 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,042 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "wpnav" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-01 50+ → 60+ up after 17 days in tier
- 2026-09-14 60+ → 50+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-09-11 50+ → 60+ up after 11 days in tier
- 2026-08-31 60+ → 50+ down after 107 days in tier
- 2026-05-16 50+ → 60+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-05-15 60+ → 50+ down after 23 days in tier
- 2026-04-22 50+ → 60+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-21 60+ → 50+ down after 56 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).
- M Menu Duplicator 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags A
- Q Quick remove menu item 3K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags D
-
WP Widget in Navigation 2K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags B -
Bulk menu creator 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags B -
Max Mega Menu 300K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Menu Image, Icons made easy 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Menu Cache into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/menu-cache" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Menu Cache — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Menu Cache: 60+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/menu-cache
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