Embeds for YouTube
by Embeds For YouTube Plugin Support · Media
🎥 An incredibly fast, simple, yet powerful, method of embedding YouTube videos into your WordPress site.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
C 60/100
Stale · Open vulnerability
Active installs
9K+
≈10K estimated
Momentum
+17%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “youtube shorts” and “youtube embed” to your wp.org tags. You rank #16 and #19 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
60 health vs 62 average across 3,285 Media plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.2%
of downloads still active
At least 9K of 779.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Media plugin keeps 0.8%, across 2,319 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.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 562 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
4.2★ over 24 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 562 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.
36
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
16%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.5
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| youtube shorts | #16 | #16 | down 5 |
| youtube embed | #19 | #15 | down 1 |
| embed youtube | #20 | #17 | down 3 |
| youtube playlist | #23 | #19 | down 2 |
| responsive youtube embed | #18 | #20 | 0 |
| youtube wordpress embed | #20 | #18 | 0 |
| how to embed youtube in wordpress | #23 | #20 | down 1 |
| embed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| insert your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| video your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| youtube your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
51 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 7 listed. 44 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “youtube shorts” and “youtube embed” to your wp.org tags. You rank #16 and #19 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 7.7K · peaks are release surges
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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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
1.5y ago
latest release · v5.4 · 18 Apr 2025
31
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 68% 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 “9K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and the previous band took 5.9 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 10K.
Install history since 3 Mar 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ shieldfactory2.7y ago
Crashed our entire site due to lousy written php code so we had to spend hours on going into safe mode, disabling all plugins in database and removing this crappy plugin from our site. Beyond that, it DOES NOT work! Avoid like the plague! This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by shieldfactory.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dsitechmktg2.8y ago
Easy way to embed YouTube videos on my website
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Embeds For YouTube Plugin Support3.5y ago
simple and sweet
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ redlid5.3y ago
Thanks for this, it works well and couldn’t be much easier to use.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Alexander Guskov5.3y ago
The extra value of this plugin to wp’s [ embed] shortcode as like extra value of Mercedes to horse-driven-farm-cart. The same 4 wheels but note the difference!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ papacoderrs5.6y ago
Good job!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Naomi Blindeman6.0y ago
I love that it is pretty easy to use, you can choose to use no cookies AND you have options like looping. Works beautifully. Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wolneymamede6.0y ago
perfect
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 5.4 Maintenance: Rename plugin to comply with WordPress.org plugin guidelines. More info here . Maintenance: Tested up to WordPress 6.8. Bug: Removed broken and insecure download YouTube feature; removal also complies with G 5.4
- — Version 5.3.1 Maintenance: Update made to plugin meta 5.3.1
- — Version 5.3 Enhancement: Added some new, shinier meta to the plugin file. It doesn’t do anything other than make me look like a slightly more competent developer. Just Maintenance: I retired the showinfo parameter some time ago but, 5.3
- — Version 5.2.4 Enhancement: As per my support post , I’m winding down work on this plugin. The best alternative is EmbedPlus, so I’m adding some links to the plugin to direct users to that 5.2.4
- — Version 5.2.3 Enhancement: Compatibility with PHP 8 and above 5.2.3
- — Version 5.2.2 Enhancement: A second attempt to fix that pesky vulnerability. Hopefully, all should now be well 5.2.2
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (5.4). 3 of 4 disclosed are patched.
- 2025-12-22 CVE-2025-68599 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 5.4 No patch available
- Patched Medium · 4.4 YouTube Embed <= 5.3.1 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-04-09 CVE-2025-31008 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 5.3.1 Patched in 5.4
- 2021-07-19 CVE-2021-24471 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 5.2.1 Patched in 5.2.2
- 2015-08-26 CVE-2015-6535 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects < 3.3.3 Patched in 3.3.3
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 115 languages, 2 at 90% or more
Plus 91 more locales with partial translations.
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
6 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 11 questions in the FAQ.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 8 of 11 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("I’ve upgraded to version 4 (or above) from an earlier version and I was using the widget feature to display videos").
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("if you need", "great for", "use this").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Jetpack, YouTube.
- ✓ Headings and lists 14 headings and 6 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 14,841 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-17 10K+ → 9K+ down after 2146 days in tier
- 2020-10-01 20K+ → 10K+ down after 1093 days in tier
- 2017-10-04 30K+ → 20K+ down after 806 days in tier
- 2015-07-21 40K+ → 30K+ down
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 YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
WP YouTube Live 1K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags B - R Responsive video embed 800+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags B
-
All Embed – Multi-Source Embed Widgets for Elementor 500+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags A -
Lite YouTube Embed 200+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Embeds for YouTube into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/youtube-embed" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Embeds for YouTube — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Embeds for YouTube: 9K+ active installs, 4.2★ (24 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/youtube-embed
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