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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “side navigation 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 “side navigation menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Floating Side Tab shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ 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

Polylang places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 3004 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #2 3 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #6 7 Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #7 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #20 ↑2 9 too low 12 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 Fullscreen Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Offcanvas Mobile Menu 800+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #19 20 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 F12 Floating Menu, sticky menu for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Floating Side Tab 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Enable Navigation Icons 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.