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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “web share”

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 “web share”, 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

Podlove Web Player shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

OG — Better Share on Social Media places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 216 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #1 2 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #4 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too high 10 Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share 100K+ · 4.8★ (523) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 OG — Better Share on Social Media 20K+ · 4.8★ (216) wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #21 ↓8 6 too low 16 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #20 ↑3 4 too low 17 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Podlove Web Player 4K+ · 3.7★ (14) wp.org #9 ↑12 12 too high 22 Share on Mastodon 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Share Cart for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑3 9 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.