Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 status”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

Ranked above its merit

Menu Visibility Control shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #8 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 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #1 2 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #2 3 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #3 4 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #4 5 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Extended Post Status 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Login Logout Menu 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 WP-Cron Status Checker 5K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 N Ni WooCommerce Custom Order Status 2K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Additional Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Advanced Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24

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.