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

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 “shake”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Chatbox Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ 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

Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 67 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Salt Shaker 7K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Popup Builder by Claspo – Email Popup, Spin the Wheel, Exit Intent 1K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Axeptio – Cookie Banner – GDPR Consent & Compliance with a friendly touch 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Fast Cart – Ultralight Ajax Side Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Smartarget – Chat Buttons & Engagement Apps 900+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 CTA Button Styler 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 MW Messenger Button 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Lead Generation Contact Widget & AI Chatbot: Chat Button, Phone Call, Telegram, Email – SiteLeads 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Chatbox Manager 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Polanger Contact Chat – Mobile Call Button 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Chat Floating Button BY XD 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Shake Add to Cart Button Animation for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Shake Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Init Ad Engine – Flexible, Multi-Format, Secure 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 SGS Social Sharing Buttons 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.