Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 button”, we agree with wp.org 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

Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 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

MaxButtons – Create buttons places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1093 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #2 3 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #16 ↑2 9 too low 8 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Button Generator – Easily Create Custom Buttons with Icons and Analytics 4K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #13 ↑1 14 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 Icon Separator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓6 4 too high 23 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 SVG Icon Block 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.