Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “save 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 “save button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Ko-fi Button shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #1 2 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #15 ↓1 10 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↑6 4 too low 7 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Save & Go 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #24 ↓2 13 too low 12 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Quantity Plus Minus Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Save as PDF Plugin by PDFCrowd 1K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Quick Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 50K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #19 20 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Floating Button – Easily Create Sticky, Fixed & Floating Buttons 4K+ · 3.0★ (15) wp.org #21 22 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Contact Button – The All-in-One Website Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Razorpay Payment Button Plugin 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.