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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “button generator”

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 “button generator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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

Floating Button – Easily Create Sticky, Fixed & Floating Buttons shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 166 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #1 2 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #4 ↑3 2 too high 7 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Easy Auto SKU Generator for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (272) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #17 ↑3 7 too low 11 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #24 ↓3 12 too low 13 Button 2K+ · 4.5★ (53) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too high 17 Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓4 5 too high 19 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Custom Add to Cart Button Label and Link for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Floating Button – Easily Create Sticky, Fixed & Floating Buttons 4K+ · 3.0★ (15) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 SMK Sidebar Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.