wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom menu shortcode”
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 “custom menu shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 
Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑4 2 too high 9 
Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 
Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too high 14 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 
WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #12 4 too high 17 
Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25)
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 
Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too high 22 
WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑1 23 
Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 8 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.