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Menu Icons by ThemeIsle

By Themeisle

Design & Themes / Themes & Templates

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

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

Menu Icons by ThemeIsle Review - In-Depth Analysis

Enhance your WordPress navigation menus with beautiful icons. Easily add icons to menu items for a more engaging user experience.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.95/10

User Rating

4.9/5 (based on 851+ reviews)

Active Installations

100,000+

Update Frequency

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

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin gives you the ability to add icons to your menu items, similar to the look of the latest dashboard menu.

After the plugin is activated, go to Appearance > Menus to edit your menus. Enable or disable icon types in the Menu Icons Settings meta box. Set default settings for the current nav menu, which will be inherited by newly added menu items. Select an icon by clicking on the Select icon link and save the menu.

The plugin supports various icon types including Dashicons, Elusive Icons, Font Awesome, Foundation Icons, Genericons, Fontello icon packs, images, and SVGs. It is compatible with most themes, especially popular ones like Twenty Seventeen and Hestia.

Development of this plugin is done on GitHub, and pull requests are welcome. Check out the issues reported there before going to the plugin forum.

Comparing to Alternatives

Menu Icons by ThemeIsle stands out in the menu icon plugin category with a strong user base and high satisfaction. It has one notable alternative that offers similar functionality.

Top alternatives

Menu Image, Icons made easy ( WPS: 7.01)

Strengths

Extremely easy to use with straightforward setup
Supports proportional icon display for menus
Offers rollback option to previous versions
Highly flexible with enough customization options
Consistently reliable with long-term user satisfaction

Weaknesses

Recent update caused icon size changes for some users
Limited custom icon color change options on hover
No built-in support for uploading custom icon sets as zip files
Mobile menu icon display issues reported by some users

User Sentiment Analysis

With a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 849 reviews, the plugin enjoys overwhelmingly positive feedback. The vast majority of users praise its simplicity and effectiveness, with very few complaints.

Positive highlights

'Fabulous' solution for social icons in menus (francesh0)
'Great Plugin' that makes menus look cool (koenig4712)
'Very simple but powerful' plugin (David Barczak)
'Easy to use and works well' (Anonymous)
'Been using this for years, so simple and works great' (adilshah0975)

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Issues with icon size changes after updates
Limited hover color customization for custom SVG icons
Mobile menu icons sometimes do not display

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a simple, reliable plugin to add icons to WordPress menus without complex setup or cost. Ideal for those who want proportional icon display and straightforward integration.

Not ideal for

Users needing advanced custom icon management such as uploading icon sets as zip files or extensive hover color customization. Also not ideal for those requiring flawless mobile menu icon support or with high security sensitivity due to past vulnerabilities.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers comprehensive icon integration features including proportional display, rollback options, and ease of use without any cost.

Final Verdict

Menu Icons by ThemeIsle is a highly rated and user-friendly plugin that effectively enhances WordPress menus with icons. Its simplicity, reliability, and free availability make it a top choice for most users needing basic menu icon functionality.

However, users requiring advanced customization or flawless mobile support may find limitations. Additionally, the plugin has had some medium-level security vulnerabilities in the past, which have been addressed but should be considered by security-conscious users. Overall, it offers excellent value for its intended use case.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Menu Icons by ThemeIsle plugin.

Icons

Nav Menu

Navigation

Screenshots

FAQ

Make sure that your active theme is using the default walker for displaying the nav menu. If it’s using its own custom walker, make sure that the menu item titles are filterable (please consult your theme author about this).

You can use the icon_picker_icon_type_stylesheet_uri filter, eg:

/**  * Load Font Awesome's CSS from CDN  *  * @param  string                $stylesheet_uri Icon type's stylesheet URI.  * @param  string                $icon_type_id   Icon type's ID.  * @param  Icon_Picker_Type_Font $icon_type      Icon type's instance.  *  * @return string  */ function myprefix_font_awesome_css_from_cdn( $stylesheet_uri, $icon_type_id, $icon_type ) {     if ( 'fa' === $icon_type_id ) {         $stylesheet_uri = sprintf(             'https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/%s/css/font-awesome.min.css',             $icon_type->version         );     }      return $stylesheet_uri; } add_filter( 'icon_picker_icon_type_stylesheet_uri', 'myprefix_font_awesome_css_from_cdn', 10, 3 );

Certainly! Here’s how you can remove an icon type from your plugin/theme:

/**  * Remove one or more icon types  *  * Uncomment one or more line to remove icon types  *  * @param  array $types Registered icon types.  * @return array  */ function my_remove_menu_icons_type( $types ) {     // Dashicons     //unset( $types['dashicons'] );      // Elusive     //unset( $types['elusive'] );      // Font Awesome     //unset( $types['fa'] );      // Foundation     //unset( $types['foundation-icons'] );      // Genericons     //unset( $types['genericon'] );      // Image     //unset( $types['image'] );      return $types; } add_filter( 'menu_icons_types', 'my_remove_menu_icons_type' );

To add a new icon type, take a look at the files inside the includes/library/icon-picker/includes/types directory of this plugin.

Add this block of code to your mu-plugin file:

add_filter( 'menu_icons_disable_settings', '__return_true' );

Add this block of code to your mu-plugin file:

/**  * Override hidden label class  *  * @param  string $class Hidden label class.  * @return string  */ function my_menu_icons_hidden_label_class( $class ) {     $class = 'hidden';      return $class; } add_filter( 'menu_icons_hidden_label_class', 'my_menu_icons_hidden_label_class' );

Add this block of code to your mu-plugin file:

/**  * Override menu item markup  *  * @param string  $markup  Menu item title markup.  * @param integer $id      Menu item ID.  * @param array   $meta    Menu item meta values.  * @param string  $title   Menu item title.  *  * @return string  */ function my_menu_icons_override_markup( $markup, $id, $meta, $title ) {     // Do your thing.      return $markup; } add_filter( 'menu_icons_item_title', 'my_menu_icons_override_markup', 10, 4 );

Add this block of code to your mu-plugin file:

/**  * Disable menu icons for a menu  *  * @param array $menu_settings Menu Settings.  * @param int   $menu_id       Menu ID.  *  * @return array  */ function my_menu_icons_menu_settings( $menu_settings, $menu_id ) {     if ( 13 === $menu_id ) {         $menu_settings['disabled'] = true;     }      return $menu_settings; } add_filter( 'menu_icons_menu_settings', 'my_menu_icons_menu_settings', 10, 2 );