wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom button text”
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 “custom button text”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
AddToAny Share Buttons places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1114 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #2 ↑3 1 too high 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #6 ↓3 7 
Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #7 8 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #10 ↑5 2 too low 9 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 
Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114)
wp.org #23 ↑1 11 too low 13 
Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (93)
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 
Image Alt Text 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #18 ↓8 3 too low 16 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151)
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 
Custom Add to Cart Button Label and Link for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #11 6 too high 18 
DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #9 11 too high 21 
Add to Cart Button Custom Text 9K+ · 4.6★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #12 9 too high 22 
Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #21 3 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.