Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 4 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

Admin Posts Navigation shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ 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

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #14 ↑2 8 too low 7 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 too low 9 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 All-in-One Sticky Anything – Click to Call, Fixed Widget, Sticky Header, Menu & Sidebar 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Options for Twenty Twenty-One 6K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Better Section Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 11 too high 18 W WP-dTree 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Admin Posts Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 15 too high 21 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Sidebar for WPBakery Page Builder 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Menu Based Sidebar 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.