Social Sharing (by Danny)
by Danny van Kooten · Social
Also makes 8 other plugins · 1.1M+ installs across the portfolio →
Adds social sharing buttons for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to your blog posts or pages.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 92/100
no flags
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+8%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “facebook”, “linkedin” and “social” for “file sharing”, “sharing” and “sharing buttons”. “facebook” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “file sharing” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “linkedin” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sharing” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “social” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sharing buttons” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
92 health vs 58 average across 1,834 Social plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.6%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 127.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Social plugin keeps 0.5%, across 1,276 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Social plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 3 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2020-06-04Reviewers keep calling it lightweight and simple to set up, with the only gripe being a missing LinkedIn share option.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 72 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 68 reviews, smoothed to 4.62★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
42
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
+0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
26%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.3
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| sharing | #6 | #3 | up 1 |
| social sharing your tag | #6 | #5 | up 1 |
| social sharing buttons | #5 | #5 | 0 |
| sharing buttons | #7 | #5 | down 1 |
| social media sharing | #6 | #7 | up 1 |
| file sharing | #6 | #4 | up 2 |
| facebook sharing | #6 | #5 | 0 |
| social network sharing | #6 | #6 | 0 |
| social networks sharing | #6 | #5 | 0 |
| social sharing plugin | #11 | #10 | down 2 |
| social sharing icons | #7 | #6 | up 1 |
| social marketing | #15 | #13 | down 1 |
| author social icons | #19 | #20 | down 3 |
| facebook your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| linkedin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| twitter your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
40 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 13 listed. 27 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “facebook”, “linkedin” and “social” for “file sharing”, “sharing” and “sharing buttons”. “facebook” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “file sharing” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “linkedin” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sharing” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “social” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sharing buttons” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 5.7K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v1.3.12 · 19 Jun 2026
24
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 98% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 30 Oct 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ijkleban6.4y ago
Lightweight, elegent, non obtrusive custom styling ready. If light, fast and simple is your game this plugin is fot you. I would really kiss people behind this plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ lifestylermary8.0y ago
I am enjoying playing with WordPress.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ limitcracker8.5y ago
Great plugin. Fast and minimal. Worked just great.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Nick Krastev8.8y ago
Great plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Toronto SEO Guy9.0y ago
I’d been looking high and low for a simple, minimalist social sharing plugin and finally found it in Social Sharing by Danny! Unlike the vast majority of the other social sharing plugins out there, Danny’s frees you of the unwanted bells and & whistles that just needlessly suck up resources and complicate things. This plugin is reliable, flexible, beautiful, and super-easy to implement. Best of all, the developer, Danny, is incredibly responsive and receptive to new ideas. In fact, I recently suggested a new feature and boom – literally within hours Danny had it integrated into the plugin and working perfectly. Thank you Danny! This topic was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by Toronto SEO Guy.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ chekmate9.2y ago
Finally a plugin that doesn’t use the wrong image for posting to Facebook and keeps all the options on facebook available. I can chose my page or my profile to post to. Love it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sourabhnandwana9.4y ago
The Only reason I am not using this is, not the availability of Linkedin share. Good Plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Don Matteo9.4y ago
Smart & Simple Social Sharing Plugin, less is more.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.3.12 Bump the minimum requirements to WordPress 4.5 and PHP 7.4. Build social sharing URLs using WordPress URL helpers and escape the generated output. Improve escaping and text domain usage in admin and front-end templates. 1.3.12
- — Version 1.3.11 Implement some general hardening measures. Bump tested WordPress version to 7.0. 1.3.11
- — Version 1.3.10 Link to x.com instead of twitter.com Ensure settings are autoloaded correctly. Use short array syntax everywhere. Explicitly specify number of accepted arguments for all hooks. 1.3.10
- — Version 1.3.9 Address PHP warning introduced by version 1.3.8. 1.3.9
- — Version 1.3.8 Escape shortcode arguments before outputting to prevent stored XSS from users with edit_post capability. Thanks to Peter Thaleikis for the responsible disclosure. 1.3.8
- — Version 1.3.7 Remove Google Plus as an option, since it has long been shut down. Add defer attribute to pop-up script tag. Improved sanitization of settings. Disallow the use of elements in the before_text setting if user lacks unfilt 1.3.7
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.3.12). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Social Sharing (by Danny) <= 1.3.7 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode ↗2024-10-11 CVE-2024-9704 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.3.7 Patched in 1.3.8
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 134 languages, 5 at 90% or more
Plus 110 more locales with partial translations.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
7 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Adds social sharing buttons for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to your blog posts or pages."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 7 of 8 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Mailchimp, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,531 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-02-15 3K+ → 2K+ down after 20 days in tier
- 2026-01-26 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-25 3K+ → 2K+ down after 422 days in tier
- 2024-11-29 4K+ → 3K+ down after 193 days in tier
- 2024-05-20 5K+ → 4K+ down after 168 days in tier
- 2023-12-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 331 days in tier
- 2023-01-07 5K+ → 6K+ up after 40 days in tier
- 2022-11-28 6K+ → 5K+ down after 1 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Open Graphite 3K+ installs · 3.6★ · 4 shared tags B - E Easy Social Share 300+ installs · 3.6★ · 4 shared tags
-
Social Media Widget 30K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags C -
Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags C -
Seed Social 6K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags C -
Custom Share Buttons with Floating Sidebar 4K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Social Sharing (by Danny) into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/dvk-social-sharing" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Social Sharing (by Danny) — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Social Sharing (by Danny): 2K+ active installs, 5.0★ (68 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/dvk-social-sharing
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