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

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 shortcode”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

Ko-fi Button shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 5K+ 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

Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 696 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #13 ↑8 7 too low 7 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Simple Divi Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #8 ↑3 9 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Quick Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 50K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Latest Post Shortcode 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 Quantity Plus Minus Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Blog Floating Button 8K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Bloglovin Button 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 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.