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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress 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 “wordpress button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 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

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #18 ↓3 8 too low 11 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Blog Floating Button 8K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.