wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “media 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 “media button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 2 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
Media Trash Button shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Media Library Folders places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 465 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #1 2 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #4 5 
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106)
wp.org #5 6 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) not PHP-current
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Phoenix Media Rename 50K+ · 4.7★ (75)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Media Sync 50K+ · 4.7★ (86)
wp.org #11 12 Media Library Folders 10K+ · 4.3★ (465)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 15 
Social Media Feather 10K+ · 4.6★ (506)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Advanced Media Offloader – Offload Media to Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, DigitalOcean Spaces & More 7K+ · 4.7★ (48)
wp.org #12 4 too high 17 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
DX Delete Attached Media 3K+ · 4.9★ (28)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Media Focus Point 6K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Media Trash Button 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Media Library File Size 6K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews
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.