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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom buttons”

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 buttons”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1915 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #8 ↑5 2 too high 11 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #22 ↓4 3 too low 20 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too high 22 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 ShareThis Share Buttons 10K+ · 3.5★ (26) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 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.