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

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 buttons”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AddToAny Share Buttons places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1114 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (576) wp.org #2 3

Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #3 4

Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #4 ↑2 5

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 ↓1 6

Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #7 8

Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #16 6 too low 11

AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12

Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #11 1 too high 13

Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #9 4 too high 14

Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #14 15

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16

Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 M Menu Duplicator 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #13 7 too high 21

WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Fullscreen Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 23

Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #12 11 too high 24

Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.