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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “restrict 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 “restrict menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #1 2 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #2 3 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #6 7 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #22 ↑1 14 too low 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 R Restrict Usernames Emails Characters 1K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Restrict for Elementor 900+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Simple Restrict 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #16 17 Page Restrict for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Restrict WP Upload Type 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 6 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.