wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove 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 “remove menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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.
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #1 2 
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #3 ↑5 4 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 
Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) heavy footprint
wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too high 7 
Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99)
wp.org #7 8 
Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 
Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27)
wp.org #9 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #19 9 too low 11 
Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too high 12 
Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37)
wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 
Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too low 14 
WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 
Remove CPT base 10K+ · 5.0★ (33)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Remove admin menus by role 8K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 
Fixed Bottom Menu 4K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too high 18 
SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 
WPS Menu Exporter 10K+ · 3.7★ (44)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 
Menu In Post 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too high 22 
Remove Schema 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 6 too high 23 
Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 R Remove invalid menu items 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
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.