wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “attribute 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 “attribute icon”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Jooosi Icon – Modern SVG icon library for WordPress shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ 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

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 251 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #1 2

Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Markup by Attribute for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Easy Social Icons 20K+ · 4.4★ (84) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too low 7

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #16 9 too low 8

Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9

Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #9 10

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 too low 13

External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #24 ↓2 10 too low 15

Block Data Attribute 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #5 10 too high 16

JVM Rich Text Icons 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18

Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19

Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20

Jooosi Icon – Modern SVG icon library for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #6 14 too high 21

Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 12 too high 23

RIACO Icon Block 80+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24

Language Attribute for Container Blocks and Pages/Posts 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.