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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “link 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 “link button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Ko-fi Button shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #20 ↓6 6 too low 15 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Quantity Plus Minus Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Quick Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 50K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too high 20 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too high 23 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 Blog Floating Button 8K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.