wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “conditional menus”
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 “conditional menus”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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
Extensions For CF7 (Contact form 7 Database, Conditional Fields and Redirection) shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82)
wp.org #2 3 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #6 7 
Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too low 13 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Different Menu in Different Pages – Conditional Menu 3K+ · 4.2★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 
Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37)
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Extensions For CF7 (Contact form 7 Database, Conditional Fields and Redirection) 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 24 R Restrict Posts based on Conditions – Conditional Post Restrictions 30+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.