wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “buffer button”
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 “buffer button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
EU Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ 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
Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 793 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125)
wp.org #1 2 
MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093)
wp.org #2 3 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
Shariff Wrapper 30K+ · 4.9★ (101)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793)
wp.org #17 ↑6 8 too low 10 
Social Snap — Social Share Buttons & Click to Tweet 10K+ · 4.2★ (58)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Cresta Social Share Counter 2K+ · 4.8★ (55)
wp.org #11 12 
FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
WPUpper Share Buttons 4K+ · 4.9★ (196)
wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 
Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113)
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 
Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #10 7 too high 18 
Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46)
wp.org #22 ↓5 4 too low 19 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
HT Mega Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets & Template Builder 60K+ · 4.1★ (66)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 EU Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #7 14 too high 22 
ShareToSocial – Social Media Share Buttons & Sharing Icons 100+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
OPcache Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Be Boost 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 8 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.