wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “nice buttons”
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 “nice buttons”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Smartarget – Chat Buttons & Engagement Apps shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #1 2 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #2 3 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #5 5 too high 11 
Nobs • Share Buttons 3K+ · 4.7★ (93)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #19 7 too low 13 
WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110)
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
YITH WooCommerce Wishlist 400K+ · 3.9★ (262)
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56)
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79)
wp.org #16 3 too high 20 
Cyrlitera – Transliteration of Links and File Names 40K+ · 4.6★ (62)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57)
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Smartarget – Chat Buttons & Engagement Apps 900+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #13 11 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.