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/ Lightweight Social Icons

Lightweight Social Icons

By Tom

Communication & Messaging / Email Newsletter & Broadcasting

Reviewed by Abdul Hameid

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Lightweight Social Icons Review - In-Depth Analysis

Add simple social icons to your widget areas with customizable sizes and colors. Choose from 47 different social profiles.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.9/10

User Rating

4.7/5 (based on 63+ reviews)

Active Installations

30,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Lightweight Social Icons is an easy to use, lightweight social icon widget which lets you display your favorite social profile icons.

The icons use an icon font, meaning you can choose the size, border radius, color and hover color of your icons!

This plugin allows you to customize the order, size, and colors of the icons. You can also enable tooltips and open links in a new window, making it a versatile choice for your social media needs.

Comparing to Alternatives

Lightweight Social Icons is a simple and efficient social icons plugin with several close alternatives available that offer similar functionality.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Very lightweight and fast loading
Simple to use with minimal configuration
Clean and solid icon designs
No known security vulnerabilities
Highly rated by users for performance

Weaknesses

Lacks some popular social media icons like TikTok and Discord
Not updated frequently, which may affect compatibility
Limited customization options compared to alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

With a high overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 63 users, most feedback is positive, praising the plugin's lightweight nature and solid performance.

Positive highlights

"It’s Light!" - Jimmy Lee
"Fantastic Social Icons Plugin" - Hematoma
"Best Social Icons Plugins but lacks tik tok icon" - Damian Partha
"Has been great until now" - teropesonen
"TOM PLEASE ADD GOOGLE MY BUSINESS ICON" - Rostyslav

Common complaints

Causes Core Web Vitals issues due to loading an unused font (fontello.woff)

Weaknesses

Limited icon set missing some popular platforms
Compatibility issues with newer WordPress versions reported
No recent updates to address emerging needs

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a lightweight, straightforward social icons plugin that prioritizes performance and simplicity without needing extensive customization.

Not ideal for

Users who require a wide variety of social media icons, frequent updates, or advanced customization options might find this plugin lacking.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers a lightweight and easy-to-use social icons plugin with basic icon sets and solid performance.

Final Verdict

Lightweight Social Icons stands out for its simplicity and performance, making it an excellent choice for users who want a fast and minimal social icons plugin. Its high user ratings reflect satisfaction with its core functionality and lightweight design.

However, the plugin's limited icon selection and lack of recent updates may not meet the needs of users looking for broader social media support or advanced features. The reported Core Web Vitals issue is a concern but does not affect all users. Overall, it is a solid free option for basic social icon needs.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Lightweight Social Icons plugin.

social icon widget

social media

social profiles

Screenshots

FAQ

Make sure Lightweight Social Icons is activated.
Navigate to “Appearance > Widgets” and look for the “Lightweight Social Icons” widget.
Drag the widget into your desired widget area.

Once the widget is added to a widget area, you can expand it and fill in your profiles.