The Social Links
by seagyn · Social
Also makes 1 other plugin · 2.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
The Social Links plugin adds a widget and shortcode to your WordPress website allowing you to display icons linking to your social profiles.
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 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+67%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “social”, “social bookmarks” and “social links” 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.
46 health vs 58 average across 1,834 Social plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 139.6K 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.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 4+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19.
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 1817 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19; the current branch is 6.8
4.4★ over 7 reviews, smoothed to 4.14★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1817 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.
31
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 24d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 24d
-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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| social your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social bookmarks your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social networking your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 5 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
- “social”, “social bookmarks” and “social links” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 318 · 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
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
5.0y ago
latest release · v2.0.5 · 9 Nov 2021
42
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 80% 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 16 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 9 Oct 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Adam Pery8.1y ago
Thank you guys
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dipulhasan8.1y ago
ok,thank
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Matt Crawford9.7y ago
Followed the outlined instructions but never did get it to work. Maybe I’m just impatient but I gave up after about 20mins This topic was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by Matt Crawford.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Andrew Lima10.1y ago
Easy to use plugin. Great work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ luigitanzi10.5y ago
Top plugin for social media icons!!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tinhead13.9y ago
Looks good under 3.4.2 and appreciate that it’s got a comprehensive set of social media sites. Some of the icons are incorrect and should be updated. Other than that, looks good.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous14.0y ago
easy to setup and does a good job. Thanks! A template snippet for manual inclusion and maby an optional shortcode could be of advantage. Also an option for rel=”nofollow” settings would be nice. However I`m fine with the widget solution
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.0.5 Fix regression in template tag. 2.0.5
- — Version 2.0.3 Really add Telegram 2.0.3
- — Version 2.0.2 Add Telegram 2.0.2
- — Version 2.0.1 Add the template tag back in. 2.0.1
- — Version 2.0.0 Refactored some code Updated Font Awesome 2.0.0
- — Version 1.3.1 Fixed type hinting error (we’re not there yet, captain) 1.3.1
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.8.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 77 languages, 2 at 90% or more
Plus 53 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
5 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "The Social Links plugin adds a widget and shortcode to your WordPress website allowing you to display icons..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 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 Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and 3 more.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 732 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 4 tags appear in the text; "social bookmarks", "social networking" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-06-30 3K+ → 2K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-06-28 2K+ → 3K+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-06-26 3K+ → 2K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-06-25 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-06-24 3K+ → 2K+ down after 360 days in tier
- 2024-06-29 4K+ → 3K+ down after 366 days in tier
- 2023-06-29 5K+ → 4K+ down after 268 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 705 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).
-
Social Media Widget 300+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D - W WPSocialite 200+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Candy Social Widget 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Social Profile Linking 100+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D - R rtSocial 30+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
- S Social Networks 30+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for The Social Links into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/the-social-links" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="The Social Links — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> The Social Links: 2K+ active installs, 4.4★ (7 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/the-social-links
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