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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “vertical 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 “vertical menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 2 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

Responsive Vertical Icon Menu shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 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 #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #1 2 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↑3 4 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #4 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #13 ↑2 8 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Vertical News Scroller 5K+ · 4.3★ (17) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Responsive Vertical Icon Menu 700+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓3 9 too high 16 Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 T TP Flatsome Vertical Menu 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too high 21 Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Vertical Menu Block for Sidebar Accordion Menu 100+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.