wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sidebar menu plugin”

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 “sidebar menu plugin”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Ocean Custom Sidebar shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1562 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2

Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #3 4

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #4 ↓2 5

Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #5 6

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9

Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) wp.org #15 6 too low 10

Sidebar Login 9K+ · 4.5★ (78) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too low 12

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #14 ↑6 2 too low 13

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too low 14

WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #10 4 too high 15

WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16

Ocean Custom Sidebar 20K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 10 too high 17

Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too low 20

Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

Resizable Sidebar for the Gutenberg Block Editor 3K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

SMK Sidebar Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 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.