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

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

Ollie Menu Designer shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 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

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) 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 5 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #5 ↑3 6 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too low 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Offcanvas Mobile Menu 800+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Fullscreen Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #15 ↓5 8 too high 24 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 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.