wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “social 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 “social button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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 Button shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #2 3 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too low 5 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6 
Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 
Scriptless Social Sharing 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 
Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #10 ↓2 11 
Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too high 14 
Social Media Feather 10K+ · 4.6★ (506)
wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 
WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #14 ↑8 1 too high 16 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 
Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 
Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 
Bit Social – Social Media Auto Poster and Scheduler 6K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Social Share Button 1K+ · 4.1★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 
Ocean Social Sharing 60K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.