Vertical Menu Widget
by Daniel Iser · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 8 other plugins · 727.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Easily add a vertical menu to your widgetable sidebar. With this plugin you can create a simple/flat menu or a foldout menu.
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 43/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+103%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “vertical menu” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
43 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.6%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 15.5K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with 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.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance 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 15+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.1.4, well behind 6.8.
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 5612 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.1.4; the current branch is 6.8
3.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 5612 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| foldout menu your tag | #2 | #2 | — |
| vertical menu your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “vertical menu” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 86 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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
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
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
15.4y ago
latest release · v0.9 · 20 Jun 2011
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 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 20 Nov 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ mover11.7y ago
Ничем не отличается от стандартного меню
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jpinches13.4y ago
Thank you! I have a long list of galleries that I wanted to have appear in the sidebar of the blogroll page and this easy to use plugin reiterated my header menu perfectly! The only thing I could want more is to be able to select which of the menu items would appear. If you’re looking for a simple site navigation menu for the sidebar, this is it!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
3 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 "Easily add a vertical menu to your widgetable sidebar. With this plugin you can create a simple/flat menu o..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Twitter.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 432 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 2 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-02-08 200+ → 100+ down after 266 days in tier
- 2025-05-18 300+ → 200+ down after 169 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 400+ → 300+ down after 11 days in tier
- 2024-11-19 300+ → 400+ up after 25 days in tier
- 2024-10-25 400+ → 300+ down after 420 days in tier
- 2023-09-01 500+ → 400+ down after 101 days in tier
- 2023-05-23 400+ → 500+ up after 6 days in tier
- 2023-05-17 500+ → 400+ down after 5 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).
- O OT Flatsome Vertical Menu 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag D
-
WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A -
Responsive Vertical Icon Menu 700+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag B -
IntelliWidget Per Page Custom Menus and Dynamic Content 600+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag D -
SM Vertical Menu 300+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag D -
Vertical Menu Block for Sidebar Accordion Menu 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Vertical Menu Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/vertical-menu-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Vertical Menu Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Vertical Menu Widget: 100+ active installs, 3.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/vertical-menu-widget
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