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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “enhanced 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 “enhanced menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Enhanced Autoload Manager shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 1562 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) wp.org #12 ↓4 8 too low 5 Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Cyr to Lat Enhanced 80K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #6 7 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #15 ↑3 8 too low 8 CM Tooltip Glossary 7K+ · 4.3★ (157) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too low 11 Categories Metabox Enhanced 1K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Fullscreen Menu 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 Enhanced Autoload Manager 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 12 too high 17 Lightbox Images for Divi Enhanced 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Enhanced Plugin Admin 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 Menu By User Roles 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Menu Backup & Restore + Import/Export 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 22 Bulk Menu Edit 700+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Gutenify Mega Menu 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.