wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “stumbleupon”
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 “stumbleupon”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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
Socicon shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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
Custom Share Buttons with Floating Sidebar places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 93 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 
Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 5 
Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053)
wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 
Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Custom Share Buttons with Floating Sidebar 4K+ · 4.8★ (93) closure risk
wp.org #21 12 too low 10 
WP Social Widget 4K+ · 4.7★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11 
Good old Share 60+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #5 6 too high 12 
Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 2 too high 13 
Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) not PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 
Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) closure risk
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
Meks Easy Social Share 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 
QuickShare 200+ · 4.7★ (12) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
ModuloBox – NextGen Lightbox 200+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
WiraKit For Elementor – Powerful Elementor Widgets And Theme Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑2 8 too high 22 
WDV About Me Widget 800+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
Group Splash – Team Introducer — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Algori Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.