wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “browser 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 “browser icon”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Login Site Icon shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 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
Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 802 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #1 2 
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144)
wp.org #6 7 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10 
Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303)
wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 
Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Login Site Icon 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 13 too high 17 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 10 too high 19 
Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Mox Icons – Icon Pack for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
Subtle Icons – SVG Icon Block Suite, Icon Picker & ACF Field 600+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 
Icon Indexa 500+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.