wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “app icon”

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 “app icon”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Mobile Smart App Banner shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #1 2

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #2 3

WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #3 4

Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6

Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #17 ↓6 9 too low 9

Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #18 8 too low 11

PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12

CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #9 ↓3 3 too high 13

WPMobile.App – Android and iOS App Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (162) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14

Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

App for Cloudflare® 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

AppMySite – WordPress & WooCommerce Mobile App Builder (No-Code Android & iOS App Maker) 7K+ · 4.3★ (138) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

WappPress – Convert Site to App Fast – WordPress to Mobile App Builder 1K+ · 3.6★ (39) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19

App Builder – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Flight 500+ · 3.9★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20

Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #4 17 too high 22

Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Management App for WooCommerce – Order notifications, Order management, Lead management, Uptime Monitoring 800+ · 4.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.