wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “menu bar”
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 “menu bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 #14 but places #21 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
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #3 4 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 
WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574)
wp.org #8 ↓4 1 too low 8 
WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131)
wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too high 9 
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #9 10 
My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199)
wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 
WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #10 5 too high 16 
Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #13 5 too high 19 
Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 
HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Fixed Bottom Menu 4K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.