Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide next 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 “hide next button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #1 2 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #5 6 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #16 ↓6 7 too low 10 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #19 ↑2 9 too low 11 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #23 ↓7 12 too low 12 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #21 ↓4 7 too low 15 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #20 ↓9 5 too low 16 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓3 8 too high 19 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Multi Page Auto Advance for Gravity Forms 2K+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Easy Hide Admin Menu Items 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓4 23 Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 EU Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑2 6 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.