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

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 “mini menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Mini Cart for WooCommerce – Side Cart & Fast Checkout shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #8 5 too low 4

Zodan Mini Admin Menu 90+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #1 3 too high 5

Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 6

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #15 ↑3 9 too low 7

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9

Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10

WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Mini Ajax Cart for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓2 7 too high 12

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13

Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #21 8 too low 14

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #9 6 too high 16

Mini Cart Drawer for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 10 too high 17

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

Mini WP GDPR 100+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #11 7 too high 19

Menu Caching 400+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #10 9 too high 20

Mini Cart for WooCommerce – Side Cart & Fast Checkout 600+ · 3.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

ShapedCart – WooCommerce Side Cart, Mini Cart & Floating Cart 30+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22

Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

UpsellWP Side Cart for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24

ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.