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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reactions”

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 “reactions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

ShareThis Reaction Buttons shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #2 on merit, 4.7★ from 1509 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (282) wp.org #1 2 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 200K+ · 4.7★ (1509) wp.org #12 10 too low 3 Da Reactions 400+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Telegram (Auto Post and Notifications) 30K+ · 5.0★ (426) wp.org #14 10 too low 5 Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.8★ (208) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Instant Emoji Reactions 100+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Vuukle – Comments, Reactions, Quizzes, Share Bar & Ad Revenue 200+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #18 ↑1 10 too low 9 ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics 80K+ · 3.6★ (138) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.9★ (91) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 weDocs: AI Powered Knowledge Base, Docs, Documentation, Wiki & AI Chatbot 5K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Wise Chat 5K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Affiliate Super Assistent 1K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 ShareThis Reaction Buttons 600+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 SureDash – Community, Courses & Member Dashboard 1K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 ATmosphere 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Some Plus Content Reactions 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Enable Mastodon Apps 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Reactify – Post Reactions, Emoji Reactions & Engagement Analytics for WordPress 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Easy Content Manager (ECM) – Custom Post Types, Custom Fields & Content Management 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 22 Init Review System – Reactions, Multi-Criteria, Guest-Friendly 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 OpinionCamp – Poll Block 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Polanger VideoHub – Build Your Own Video Platform 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.