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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subscribe button shortcode”

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 “subscribe button shortcode”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Bloglovin Button shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #2 3 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #9 ↓3 6 too low 4 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Podcast Subscribe Buttons 4K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #20 ↓3 10 too low 11 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Nobs • Share Buttons 3K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 too high 16 Easy Subscribe 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 15 too high 17 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Download After Email – Subscribe & Download Form Plugin 7K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Bloglovin Button 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 Podlove Subscribe button 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 SocialFeeds 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.