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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fontawesome”

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 “fontawesome”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPZOOM Connect: AI Chat, Click to Chat, Social Icons & Share Buttons places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1870) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #3 4 Gravity Booster – Styles & Layouts for Gravity Forms 30K+ · 4.6★ (198) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 WP Bottom Menu 20K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #5 6 Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (133) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Arconix Shortcodes 4K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #7 8 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 WPZOOM Connect: AI Chat, Click to Chat, Social Icons & Share Buttons 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Wishlist for WooCommerce: Multiple Wishlists per Customer Pro 2K+ · 4.9★ (52) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (49) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Video Gallery for WooCommerce – Add Product Video & Featured Video 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 M Mesmerize Companion 50K+ · 4.4★ (51) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Download List Block with Icons 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Advanced Classic Editor 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Floating Button – Easily Create Sticky, Fixed & Floating Buttons 4K+ · 3.0★ (15) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Subtle Icons – SVG Icon Block Suite, Icon Picker & ACF Field 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 NS Smooth Scroll Back to Top 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Magnify – Suggestive Search Plugin 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 IS-theme-companion 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.