wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “video bubble”

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 “video bubble”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Video Connect – Record Video with Form, Featured Video, Floating Video, Video Recording shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10+ 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

PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 361 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3

Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 4

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #10 5 too low 6

GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #1 5 too high 7

Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #17 9 too low 9

Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10

WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #14 ↑7 4 too low 11

PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12

ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13

3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

Responsive Pricing Table 10K+ · 4.6★ (91) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16

Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓2 10 too high 17

Events Slider, Events Carousel, Events Grid, Events Timeline and Events Filter Bar for The Events Calendar – Eventful 400+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #11 6 too high 18

Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

HelpGent – Video Funnels and Conversational Forms for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #12 7 too high 20

Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21

Eventful for Elementor – Events Showcase for The Events Calendar 200+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 8 too high 22

Video Connect – Record Video with Form, Featured Video, Floating Video, Video Recording 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23

Chat Support for Viber – Chat Bubble and Chat Button for Gutenberg, Elementor and Shortcode 300+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24

BizReview – Business and Google Place Review Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.