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

Guten-bubble shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 489 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Menu Image, Icons made easy 100K+ · 4.5★ (123) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #9 ↑6 5 too low 5 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #16 ↓4 9 too low 8 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #14 ↓5 6 too low 9 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #22 ↓3 13 too low 10 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too low 11 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) wp.org #24 ↓2 12 too low 13 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 Word Balloon 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 12 too high 17 Floating Button – Easily Create Sticky, Fixed & Floating Buttons 4K+ · 3.0★ (15) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 LIQUID SPEECH BALLOON 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Guten-bubble 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Turn Comments Off 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too high 23 Maestro: The Inline Admin Menu Editor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Bekero Mobile Bottom Menu 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.