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

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 chat”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

VW Floating Chat shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 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 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #3 4 Floating Chat Buttons – Click to Call or Chat, Email 1K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Animated Floating Chat Button 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Cresta Help Chat 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 WP Click to Chat – Email, Live Chat, Call & Book Now Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Chat Floating Button BY XD 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 VW Floating Chat 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Tap Chat – Floating Contact Button 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.