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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mobile navigation”

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 “mobile navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 400+ 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #14 ↓4 7 too low 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 ShiftNav – Responsive Mobile Menu 10K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Navigation menu as Dropdown Widget 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Responsive Navigation Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 EzzyJohn App-Style Mobile Navigation 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑2 12 too high 20 Toast Mobile Menu – Fast & Lightweight Responsive Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Endless Posts Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 22 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 17 too high 24 Navigation JHAC 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.