WP Theater
by kentfarst · Media
Shortcodes for YouTube and Vimeo. Includes embeds, "Theater" embed, thumbed previews, playlist, channel, user uploads and groups.
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Health
D 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈170 estimated
Momentum
-21%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “embed”, “shortcode” and “video” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
46 health vs 62 average across 3,280 Media plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.7%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 14.6K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Media plugin keeps 0.8%, across 2,318 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Media plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 11+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.2.39, well behind 6.8.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 4207 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.2.39; the current branch is 6.8
4.6★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4207 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| embed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| shortcode your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| video your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| vimeo shortcode your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| youtube shortcode your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “embed”, “shortcode” and “video” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 103 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
11.5y ago
latest release · v1.2.3 · 26 Apr 2015
20
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare 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.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 70% of the way through.
Install history since 11 May 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tonyakay11.4y ago
Support is fast and thorough. Now that I have the plugin working, it’s easy to use and has a beautifully designed display of my Youtube playlist.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ricardo11.5y ago
I updated to the latest version, and created the v3 API with the domain name, but I see no videos. Not sure if I missed something. Instructions seemed simple enough.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Healthnut12.4y ago
Not only does the plugin work perfectly, Kent also gave outstanding online support when I had a few problems (not with the plugin but with my lack of wordpress skills). When we identified a problem that was actually caused by the plugin, he created and published an update within 10 min. that fixed it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Tyler Regas12.5y ago
While it would be nice to have insert buttons added to the editor UI, it’s not a big enough deal to give this excellent plugin one less star. If you post YouTube or Vimeo videos on your WP site, this is the only plugin you need.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ MicroChaotic13.1y ago
This plug-in had exactly what I needed. I had to tweak the grid a little bit to my own liking and fit my website, but that’s not a problem. Maybe one day pagination for channels with more than 20 videos? 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
AI assistants
How it's measured →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.
Readme readiness
7 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Shortcodes for YouTube and Vimeo. Includes embeds, "Theater" embed, thumbed previews, playlist, channel, us..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 7 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 7 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("who need"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions YouTube, Vimeo.
- ✓ Headings and lists 8 headings and 6 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 5,915 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "vimeo shortcode", "youtube shortcode" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-15 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-07-14 100+ → 200+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2026-07-10 200+ → 100+ down after 831 days in tier
- 2024-03-31 300+ → 200+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2024-03-28 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-27 300+ → 200+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-25 200+ → 300+ up after 6 days in tier
- 2024-03-19 300+ → 200+ down after 385 days in tier
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).
-
Advanced iFrame 40K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A - I Insert Pages 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Embeds for YouTube 9K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C -
Videojs HTML5 Player 7K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Theater into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-theater" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Theater — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Theater: 100+ active installs, 4.6★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-theater
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