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

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 group”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

Pulsating Chat Button shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 3K+ 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too low 3 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #10 11 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #15 ↑8 3 too low 13 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Button Group 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 13 too high 15 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Change Add to Cart Button Text for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Pulsating Chat Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 17 too high 24 FOXPOST – Packeta Group 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 10 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.