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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Navigation JHAC shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ 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

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1679 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (850) wp.org #2 3 WP-PageNavi 500K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4126) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (739) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Navigation menu as Dropdown Widget 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (424) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (878) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1660) wp.org #19 ↑4 10 too low 10 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #17 ↓5 7 too low 11 WP Widget in Navigation 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1679) wp.org #24 ↓8 12 too low 13 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2045) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ · 4.6★ (132) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Classic Menu in Navigation Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 Better Section Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 8 too high 19 Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Responsive Navigation Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 Navigation Block with Mega Menu 1K+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Admin Posts Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Navigation JHAC 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 Enable Navigation Icons 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 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.