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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “follow button”

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 “follow button”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Add Follow Button For Pintrest shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #13 ↑8 10 too low 4 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #20 ↓13 16 too low 5 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 ShareThis Follow Buttons 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 ↑1 5 too high 7 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #22 ↑1 15 too low 8 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post 10K+ · 4.0★ (64) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #24 ↓5 9 too low 16 WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #17 18 Add Follow Button For Pintrest 400+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓4 3 too high 20 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑2 14 too high 21 Floating Follow Button for TikTok and TikCode 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22 Bloglovin Button 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Pulsating Chat Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Simple Follow Buttons 20+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #23 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.