WP Social Widget
by catchsquare · Social
Also makes 4 other plugins · 9K+ installs across the portfolio →
A widget to add links of social networking sites.
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
C 63/100
Stale · Open vulnerability
Active installs
4K+
≈4.5K estimated
Momentum
+8%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “social icons”, “social links” and “social media” for “social networking”, “stumbleupon” and “xing”. “social icons” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “social networking” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “social links” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “stumbleupon” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “social media” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “xing” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
63 health vs 58 average across 1,834 Social plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.2%
of downloads still active
At least 4K of 124.4K 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.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 524 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 11 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 524 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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.6
Velocity
places per keyword, 23d
20%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 23d
+0.1
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 networking | #6 | #10 | 0 |
| stumbleupon | #9 | #10 | down 2 |
| #13 | #16 | up 1 | |
| networking | #20 | #20 | down 1 |
| social icons your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social media your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social network your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wp social widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
12 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 4 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “social icons”, “social links” and “social media” for “social networking”, “stumbleupon” and “xing”. “social icons” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “social networking” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “social links” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “stumbleupon” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “social media” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “xing” sits at #13 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 4.5K · 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
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
1.4y ago
latest release · v2.3.1 · 25 May 2025
25
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 59% 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 “4K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 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 1 Nov 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ sarcasius6.6y ago
Its a good plugin I like it. simple but the logos are the old versions. There are no different types of Facebook logos, instagram and youtube are old logos, and when you change colors it will not show on my wordpress version. Give it a boost please.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mikefinestcity7.5y ago
I love these social icons on my landing page. They’re simple and elegant. Just what I was looking for.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ intuitiveagencia8.8y ago
nice view of the social icon but your plugin is in conflict with de color box #hexa of wordpress clic for the conflict
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mynerdywebguy9.3y ago
This widget is a thing of beauty! I put it on any websites that might care to share =)
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ subashkc19.3y ago
Really helped me with one of my personal projects, very clear instructions and examples and easy to configure. This topic was modified 9 years ago by subashkc1.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wanbli7710.1y ago
Best This topic was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by wanbli77.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ zamaan10.4y ago
Thanks for the nice little plugin. 5 star given for your hard work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Kanchha Kaji Prajapati10.9y ago
This plugin has awesome features and works really well. Well done!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (2.3.1). 4 of 5 disclosed are patched.
- Open Medium · 6.4 WP Social Widget <= 2.3.1 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-09-22 CVE-2025-57981 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.3.1 No patch available
- Patched Medium · 6.4 WP Social Widget <= 2.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-06-05 CVE-2025-49306 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.3 Patched in 2.3.1
- Patched Medium · 6.4 WP Social Widget <= 2.2.6 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-03-24 CVE-2025-30610 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.2.6 Patched in 2.2.7
- Patched Medium · 6.4 WP Social Widget <= 2.2.5 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via shortcode ↗2024-02-28 CVE-2024-27189 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.2.5 Patched in 2.2.6
- Patched Medium · 6.4 WP Social Widget <= 2.2.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode ↗2023-01-06 CVE-2023-0074 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.2.3 Patched in 2.2.4
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 6.8.1
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A widget to add links of social networking sites."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and 3 more.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,102 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "social links", "social media" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-02-21 5K+ → 4K+ down after 297 days in tier
- 2025-04-30 6K+ → 5K+ down after 286 days in tier
- 2024-07-18 7K+ → 6K+ down after 200 days in tier
- 2023-12-31 8K+ → 7K+ down after 258 days in tier
- 2023-04-17 9K+ → 8K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-04-16 8K+ → 9K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2023-04-15 9K+ → 8K+ down after 284 days in tier
- 2022-07-05 10K+ → 9K+ down after 486 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 Tools 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 5 shared tags -
Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Lightweight Social Icons 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D -
Fuse Social Icons 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Socials Ignited 2K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C -
Social Icons Sticky 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Social Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-social-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Social Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Social Widget: 4K+ active installs, 4.7★ (11 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-social-widget
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