Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “web 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 “web icon”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Catch Web Tools shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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★ (7323) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Icon Element – Icon Pack for Elementor Page Builder (6718 icons) 40K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too low 5 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 too low 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #11 ↑5 3 too low 9 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too high 11 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #23 ↓6 9 too low 15 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↑1 12 too high 18 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓2 12 too high 19 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Jooosi Icon – Modern SVG icon library for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22 Icons Font Loader – use web icons anywhere on your site, fast 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓4 10 too high 23 Web Icons 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too high 24 Mox Icons – Icon Pack for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 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.