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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fa 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 “fa icon”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Wp Customizer Icon shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Redux Framework places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 273 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 wp.org
1 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #1 2 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Tabby Responsive Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #15 ↓1 10 too low 6 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 FA WP Admin Menu Icons 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Block for Font Awesome Icons – Searchable Icon Picker, SVG, FA 7 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #21 ↓2 12 too low 10 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 Dashboard quick links widget 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 Custom Icons for Elementor 10K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 Shortcode for Font Awesome 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 WP Zillow Review Slider 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Meks Flexible Shortcodes 10K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 WP MyLinks 1K+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Five-Star Ratings Shortcode 500+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Wp Customizer Icon 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Icon Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Perfect Font Awesome Integration 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.