Embedly

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.

wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.

6 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 6 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 94% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 8 months ago; the previous band took 16 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ harry74

   8.4y ago

   When I first discovered this plugin I wanted to write a stellar review and give it like 20 stars, as it seemed to solve one of the biggest problems of BuddyPress. But when by solving a problem you create an even bigger one, it kind of defeats the purpose. In BP when you post a link on the activity stream, it doesn’t generate a preview unless it comes from some specific big websites (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo). Even links from sites like Facebook, Apple or IMDb show no preview. I tested many, if not all, free plugins that claim to tackle this issue – almost none worked with BP. Now, this plugin does a great job. It must support a huge number of websites, because I posted from some unknown ones with no problem whatsoever. Seemed too good to be true. And unfortunately it was… As I found out later, when Embedly is activated posts from some sources that BP supports by default stop working correctly (happened with YouTube and Vimeo). A preview is still generated, but it is only a dead image of the video. By dead I mean you cannot click play or even click on the title and open the video in a new tab. Since nobody in their right mind would be OK with building a social network where users cannot post YouTube videos, this otherwise great plugin becomes essentially useless. An easy solution would be what Iframely Responsive Embeds plugin does: it has an option “Do not override default embed providers” (the problem is that they do not support so many websites as Embedly). Hopefully Embedly will provide something similar in the future, because it really is a shame – I tried some crazy URLs, even from sources not on their list, and it still generated a perfect preview! The other problem, as you can tell by the title, is support. Not to put too fine a point on it, it simply doesn’t exist. I opened a ticket and described the bug, asking if there is a solution. It’s been five days now and counting… It seems that support is there just for effect. And imagine that I am a potential paying customer, as I clearly stated that if the problem is solved I would like to purchase a premium package or custom code or something, in order to remove their branding from the previews. Again, a shame… So it has to be one star. This topic was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by harry74. This topic was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by harry74.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Ward

   9.1y ago

   Dirty uninstallation and branding is why I gave this 4.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Wes Candela

   9.3y ago

   I use and have used Embedly for years now. Ultimately it’s handy and it’s a plugin I consider “core”. However… It doesn’t allow you to play with the back end of the plugin anymore. This means no changing fonts, no changing preview dims, no changing font colors and background colors. You can set these options in settings panel, but they don’t always translate to what displYs inn the screen. But that being said, I’m giving this A 5 ⭐️ review because, when everything is said and done: This plugin flat out rocks and I use it on practically every article I write. I can insert a link to Wikipedia or IMDB when writing an article, and Embedly will take that link and change it from a bunch on letters to a preview of the page, see examples in article: I am a paying customer of theirs I dig the plug-it so much. If you want to see it in action, go to my site here: http://voicesfilm.com Rock on boys. Please consider letting us play with backend of plugin .php…

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ Zsolt Revay Giran

   9.3y ago

   After deactivating the plugin I still have embedly script running from the database leftover that is not cleaned up and now I have to trace the leftovers manually. Stay away from this plugin.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ paddor82

   9.6y ago

   Embed.ly is a great tool to neatly embed all kinds of sources into your blog posts as stylish “cards”. It works like a charm. The only drawback I see is that changes in the plugin settings don’t affect cards on existing posts. E.g. if you change the theme of your blog to something darker and you hence change the Embed.ly theme from light to dark, it won’t update the existing posts but only affect newly created cards. Same if you want to deactivate the social sharing buttons on all existing cards. So I give only 4 stars. This topic was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by paddor82.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ thechihuahua

   9.9y ago

   took me 30 mins to set up an account and get the key to activate, and setting up stuff, but it shows blank…

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ JillEB

   10.0y ago

   I was really excited to find and use this plugin. The first time I sent a message to CS I received no reply. When I emailed again I was told, “There’s no record of your email.” Okay. Stuff happens… I then had another issue and was mid-thread and the embed.ly CS team simply stopped responding. I’ve followed up with additional messages but no reply. My suggestion? AVOID THIS PLUGIN!

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ btreece84

   10.5y ago

   Come on, guys. Change log shows last update for version 4.0.9, and you just released version 4.0.12. The 4.0.9/4.0.10 updates broke my site and I had to contact support just find out that the plugin needed to be reset to use it again. Update the change log and make it a freaking priority already. There’s a REASON the tab is there… Auto updates through the repo are worthless without an updated change log. 1 star for the dunce. 5 stars if you can make it 5 new and consecutive updates without missing the log when you issue the code update (not a day later). Seriously.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 4.9.3 Tested and confirmed compatible with WordPress 6.9.1. Fixed settings page capability check (manage_options instead of activate_plugins). Fixed potential fatal error when get_current_screen() returns null during AJAX requ 4.9.3
2. — Version 4.7.0 Having an active app.embed.ly account is now optional to use the plugin! Users who want access to unbranded card embeds and/or analytics can elect to input their Embedly API key in the plugin settings, but users who just 4.7.0
3. — Version 4.0.9 Improved plugin security. 4.0.9
4. — Version 4.0.6 Embedly is not currently supporting historical analytics for embeds, but you can still see realtime views. Improves the implementation of javascript dependencies via the wp_enqueue_script api. 4.0.6
5. — Version 4.0 Removed Embedly TinyMCE Button. Added Editor Preview URL functionality for all URLS (WP v4.0+) Redesigned Embedly Admin page All embeds will be generated as Embedly Cards 4.0
6. — Version 3.2 Embedly TinyMCE dialog and dependencies managed server side. Refactor code to use class structure. Clean up deprecated SQL generation to make compliant with WP3.6 and above. 3.2

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1

Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.

Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-02-21 3K+ → 2K+ down after 478 days in tier
2. 2024-10-31 4K+ → 3K+ down after 450 days in tier
3. 2023-08-08 5K+ → 4K+ down after 308 days in tier
4. 2022-10-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 431 days in tier
5. 2021-07-30 7K+ → 6K+ down after 442 days in tier
6. 2020-05-14 8K+ → 7K+ down after 1504 days in tier
7. 2016-04-01 7K+ → 8K+ up

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Embedly into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Embedly: 2K+ active installs, 3.5★ (20 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/embedly