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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cta 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 “cta button”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

KPIS CTA Buttons shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 30+ 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

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too low 4 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too low 6 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #18 ↑1 11 too low 8 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 CTA Button Styler 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 WP CTA – Call Now Button, Sticky Button & Call to Action Builder 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 ↑2 8 too high 15 Notification Bar, Announcement and Cookie Notice WordPress Plugin – FooBar 3K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #15 ↑3 16 Coupon & Discount Code Reveal Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Safelayout Brilliant Buttons – WordPress Buttons 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Sticky Floating Forms Lite 800+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Floating Button/CTA – Easy to use 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 21 Sticky CTA Button 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑3 12 too high 22 KPIS CTA Buttons 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 Experto CTA Widget – Call To Action, Sticky CTA, Floating Button Plugin 80+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Amazing Affiliates – Toolkit for Amazon Associates with Amazon Product Blocks and Amazon PAAPI5 / Creators API integration 600+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.