Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 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 #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #9 ↓3 3 too low 7 WP Menu Icons 20K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #14 ↓4 4 too low 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #22 ↑2 10 too low 13 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Icon Element – Icon Pack for Elementor Page Builder (6718 icons) 40K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 9 too high 15 Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 JVM Rich Text Icons 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Icon Separator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 SVG Icon Block 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 Login Site Icon 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 Jooosi Icon – Modern SVG icon library for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too high 23 Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too high 24 Mox Icons – Icon Pack for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24

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.