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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “floating bubble”

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 “floating bubble”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 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

GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #2 3 Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too low 6 Floating Button – Easily Create Sticky, Fixed & Floating Buttons 4K+ · 3.0★ (15) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Floating Contact Button for MAX and Telegram 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #19 ↑4 9 too low 11 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #24 ↓2 12 too low 13 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too low 15 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 ShapedCart – WooCommerce Side Cart, Mini Cart & Floating Cart 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Tap Chat – Floating Contact Button 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Floating Contact Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.