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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visual editor button”

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 “visual editor button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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

Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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 wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #3 4 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #16 ↑7 5 too low 12 WP Editor 20K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #15 ↑3 2 too high 18 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #22 ↓7 3 too low 20 Ibtana – WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Jamie's Visual HTML Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 VRTs – Visual Regression Tests 800+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Advanced Classic Editor 2K+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 GTranslate Visual Addon 400+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.