wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “floating widget”
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 widget”, we and wp.org disagree 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
Back Button Widget shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144)
wp.org #11 ↑6 1 too low 11 
XT Floating Cart for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (149)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39)
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
Floating Chat Buttons – Click to Call or Chat, Email 1K+ · 4.9★ (54)
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 21 
Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 
Reviews Widgets for Google & 45+ platforms by Repuso 1K+ · 4.8★ (25)
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 
ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews
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.