Menu-item-ancestor
This plugin is for developers and designers who want to have a separate class for menu items with children.
Consider an alternative
Menu-item-ancestor shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 16 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 16 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 3.0 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Menu-item-ancestor stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| ancestor | >100 |
| css | >100 |
| menu | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Menu-item-ancestor
From the official readme · v1.1Description
This plugin is for developers and designers who want to have a separate class for menu items with children.
This plugin adds a menu-item-ancestor class to every menu item that has descendants.
Alows to use CSS to style only those menu items, that has descendants. For example you can add different background or different hover behavior.
Installation
- Upload
menu-item-ancestorfolder ormenu-item-ancestor.phpfile to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Use CSS menu-item-ancestor class to select and style menu items that have descendants
Changelog
1.1
- Fixed the menu logic. The first version wrongly asumed that menu item stored it’s parent in posts table, when it’s actually is stored in postmeta table.
1.0
- Big bang. Time starts.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Menu-item-ancestor alternatives
All ancestor plugins →| Rank | Plugin | Active installs |
|---|---|---|
| 2 |
CSS Page Ancestors
Add ancestors classes in your body_class to CSS control ALL the anchestors of your page.
|
<10 |
FAQ
Menu-item-ancestor: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 11, 2026
Is Menu-item-ancestor free?
Yes. Menu-item-ancestor is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Menu-item-ancestor safe to use in 2026?
Menu-item-ancestor shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 16 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Menu-item-ancestor?
Menu-item-ancestor is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,668 times since it launched in August 2010. It was downloaded 48 times in the last 30 days.
Does Menu-item-ancestor work with WordPress 7.1?
Menu-item-ancestor is officially tested up to WordPress 3.0.5, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Menu-item-ancestor last updated?
The latest version, 1.1, was released on August 23, 2010 (16 years ago).
Who makes Menu-item-ancestor?
Menu-item-ancestor is developed and maintained by valentinas.
What are the best alternatives to Menu-item-ancestor?
The most popular alternatives to Menu-item-ancestor are CSS Page Ancestors (<10 installs).
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