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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “icon box”

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 box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

Icon Separator shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 3 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #9 ↑10 3 too low 7 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 ↓6 11 too low 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Icon Separator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too high 17 Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Flip Box Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Service Box 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Service Box Slider 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too high 23 Icon Box Block – Insert your favorite icon with customization and design 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.