Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “sticky”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ 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

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #1 2 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #5 1 too low 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 #10 5 too low 6 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #17 ↑4 11 too low 7 Sticky Block for Gutenberg Editor 8K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Catch Sticky Menu 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #21 ↓3 11 too low 11 All-in-One Sticky Anything – Click to Call, Fixed Widget, Sticky Header, Menu & Sidebar 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #11 12 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Simple Sticky Add To Cart For WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Sticky Social Link 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Sticky Header 2020 600+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #18 19 WPC Sticky Add To Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Sticky Floating Forms Lite 800+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Sticky Banner 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Fixed And Sticky Header 1K+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Sticky Content – Make Any Section Sticky on Scroll 500+ · 3.0★ (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.