Links With Icons Widget
by ethanpil · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 6 other plugins · 2K+ installs across the portfolio →
A widget to display links with icons alongside.
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
D 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
900+
≈1K estimated
Momentum
+35%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “icons”, “link widget” and “link with icon” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
48 health vs 56 average across 5,897 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.6%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 34.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,190 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.4.34, well behind 6.8.
Details
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3260 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.4.34; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 7 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3260 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| icons your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link with icon your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “icons”, “link widget” and “link with icon” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 210 · 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
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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
10.8y ago
latest release · v1.2 · 19 Jan 2016
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 92% 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 “900+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band yesterday and the previous band took 3.2 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 1K.
Install history since 10 Mar 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ 3DWebDesign5.8y ago
Image button not working, you can add only link and anchor.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous12.1y ago
Great plugin!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ er.sushilg12.5y ago
Hello, Its working great. But If I want to delete any single icon from multiple , how I will delete it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Azurite12.8y ago
The ideal situation for this plugin is for folks wanting to make a customized menu of sorts, with icons on the side and link text. However, I wanted to customize it for use in a footer, to make image-only links to partner and other network sites. The plugin author was prompt and responsive in helping me customize the plugin to get it to work the way I wanted, and the fixes are easy! Plus, the whole plugin is very easy to use–bordering on self-explanatory, if not ACTUALLY self-explanatory. It’d be hard to mess up with this one.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sector_112.8y ago
works well!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dleiva13.1y ago
!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ethanpil13.1y ago
Works as well as I wrote it to! 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A widget to display links with icons alongside."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 3 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,667 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "link widget", "link with icon" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-31 1K+ → 900+ down after 1168 days in tier
- 2023-08-20 2K+ → 1K+ down after 320 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 4K+ → 2K+ down after 1034 days in tier
- 2019-12-05 6K+ → 4K+ down after 1154 days in tier
- 2016-10-07 5K+ → 6K+ up
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).
-
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Widget Context 30K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A - S SpiceBox 20K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
- C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B
-
Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags C -
Widget Content Blocks 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Links With Icons Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/links-with-icons-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Links With Icons Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Links With Icons Widget: 900+ active installs, 5.0★ (7 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/links-with-icons-widget
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