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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple chat”

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 “simple chat”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 2 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

ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #3 4 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #4 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #6 7 Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Smartsupp – live chat, AI shopping assistant and chatbots 20K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 WP Simple Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.8★ (227) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 Chatra Live Chat + ChatBot + Cart Saver 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 20 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Fast Chat Button 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Animated Floating Chat Button 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 WP Click to Chat – Email, Live Chat, Call & Book Now Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) 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.