wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “menu title”
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 title”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #1 2 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27)
wp.org #9 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Title and Nofollow For Links (Classic Editor) 10K+ · 4.5★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #10 2 too high 13 
Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37)
wp.org #13 14 
WP Bottom Menu 20K+ · 4.5★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #11 3 too high 15 
Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #14 2 too high 17 
Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #17 18 
Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
MM Title Manager — Hide Page and Post Titles 10K+ · 4.4★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #21 22 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 7 too high 23 
Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25)
wp.org #23 24 
Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 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.