Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multiple 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 “multiple navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Admin Posts Navigation shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4353 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7314) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4126) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (424) wp.org #5 ↑10 2 too low 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1679) wp.org #7 ↓3 3 too low 5 Pagination by BestWebSoft – Customizable WordPress Content Splitter and Navigation Plugin 5K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (739) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1660) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (589) wp.org #9 ↑5 1 too low 9 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2775) wp.org #12 ↓3 3 too low 10 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (878) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Classic Menu in Navigation Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↑2 8 too high 12 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4353) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2527) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2045) wp.org #20 ↑4 6 too low 15 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (183) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5218) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (152) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Multiple Themes 10K+ · 4.7★ (50) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Admin Posts Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 14 too high 21 SysBasics Customize My Account for WooCommerce – Live My Account Customizer 7K+ · 4.2★ (33) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too high 23 Enable Navigation Icons 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.