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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “full width 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 “full width button”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 of the top 20. 3 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

Ko-fi Button shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 5K+ 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

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 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 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too low 3 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too low 4 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #17 13 too low 5 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Full Width Banner Slider Wp 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #1 18 too high 20 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Zeffy Donate Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Coupon & Discount Code Reveal Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 19 too high 24 S Sidebar Full-Width Toggle 30+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.