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

Menu By User Roles shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 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 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #3 4 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65) wp.org #6 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing 2K+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #20 ↑2 8 too low 13 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Role Based Redirect 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 I IP Based Login 600+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 Product Visibility by User Role for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Menu By User Roles 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Role Based Hide Adminbar 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too high 23 Product Prices by User Roles for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.4★ (14) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Hide Menu Items by Role 100+ · 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.