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

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 widgets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Astra Widgets shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Dynamic Widgets places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 109 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 6 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #12 13 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Contact Button – The All-in-One Website Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Essential Widgets 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #17 7 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.