wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “share theme”
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 “share theme”, 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 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
Social Share Block – Help Visitors Spread Your Content Everywhere shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 523 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627)
wp.org #1 2 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 5 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #13 8 too low 6 
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #9 10 Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share 100K+ · 4.8★ (523)
wp.org #21 11 too low 11 
Social Share for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Cresta Social Share Counter 2K+ · 4.8★ (55)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Social Share Button 1K+ · 4.1★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Share This Image 1K+ · 4.1★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Social Share Block – Help Visitors Spread Your Content Everywhere 2K+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
Easy Share Solution For WordPress 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.