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

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 order”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Simple Menu Order Column shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #2 3 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #3 4 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #4 5 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #10 ↑5 4 too low 7 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 ↑2 13 too low 10 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #12 13 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #14 ↑2 1 too low 14 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #15 ↓5 16 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #8 ↓3 8 too high 17 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Fixed Bottom Menu 4K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 S Simple Menu Order Column 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑2 18 too high 24 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) 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.