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

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 joomla”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 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

J2W Migration shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Widgets for Airbnb Reviews places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 60 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #1 2

reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin 100K+ · 4.3★ (166) wp.org #2 3

wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) not PHP-current wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Gantry 5 Framework 7K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export 20K+ · 4.4★ (593) wp.org #12 7 too low 6

Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #13 6 too low 8

GSpeech TTS – WordPress Text To Speech Plugin 3K+ · 4.8★ (178) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Linguise – AI Automatic Multilingual Translation 1K+ · 4.9★ (31) not PHP-current wp.org #7 2 too high 10

RSFirewall! 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 5 too high 11

Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #23 12 too low 12

Next-Cart Store to WooCommerce Migration 100+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #10 2 too high 13

.html for all url 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #8 5 too high 14 W WP Wrapper 600+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 2 too low 15

J2W Migration 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 9 too high 16

stepFORM: Plugin for Building Contact Forms, Advanced Multi-Step Forms, Payment Integration, and Custom Contact Form Solutions 100+ · 4.6★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too low 17

BotZoom 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

PHP Vitals 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 4 too high 19

PressMeGPT – Header & Footer for Elementor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20 H HashCash – Proof of Work CAPTCHA — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #20 21

wCookie — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #21 22

QForm – free and simple form builder 90+ · 0.0★ (0) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #22 23

SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 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.