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

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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #1 2

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

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 6 too low 7

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #15 8 too low 8

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #8 ↓1 9

Sticky Block for Gutenberg Editor 8K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #4 5 too high 10

WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #19 ↓6 7 too low 13

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14

All-in-One Sticky Anything – Click to Call, Fixed Widget, Sticky Header, Menu & Sidebar 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #9 5 too high 15

Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16

Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑10 2 too high 17

Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 11 too high 18

Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too high 20

Sticky Floating Forms Lite 800+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21

WP CTA – Call Now Button, Sticky Button & Call to Action Builder 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) not PHP-currentheavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22

Sticky Banner 800+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓2 9 too high 23

WP Featured Posts 300+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24

Sticky Content – Make Any Section Sticky on Scroll 500+ · 3.0★ (1) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.