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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slack 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 “slack chat”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Chatlio Live Chat for Slack shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #1 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 3 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #3 4 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #4 5 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #11 ↑4 2 too low 10 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #14 ↓9 4 too low 11 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Chatra Live Chat + ChatBot + Cart Saver 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 ↑2 6 too high 14 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 Floating Chat Buttons – Click to Call or Chat, Email 1K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↑2 10 too high 17 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Chatlio Live Chat for Slack 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑2 11 too high 21 Slack AI Chatbot with AI Agents 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) – WordPress Live Chat plugin 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Vanilla Bean Slack Hooker 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Olark Live Chat 1K+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.