wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “create menu”

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 “create menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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

Ollie Menu Designer shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too low 3

Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #1 2 too high 4

Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #5 ↓2 6

Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8

MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #14 6 too low 9

Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 ↑6 7 too low 11

Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 D Duplicate Menu 100K+ · 4.6★ (104) wp.org #13 1 too low 13

Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #15 1 too low 15

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 8 too low 16 M Menu Duplicator 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #12 4 too high 17

Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #10 7 too high 18

SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 too low 19

WP Create Multiple Posts & Pages 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20

Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too high 21

Menu In Post 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23

Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

HT Menu – WordPress Mega Menu Builder for Elementor 3K+ · 2.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑2 2 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.