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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “embed maps”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “embed maps”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

All Embed – Multi-Source Embed Widgets for Elementor shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

W3 Total Cache places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #2 3 Maps Plugin using Google Maps for WordPress – WP Google Map 10K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 HTML5 Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too high 9 Flexible Map 7K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too low 12 A amCharts: Charts and Maps 1K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 Basic Google Maps Placemarks 2K+ · 4.4★ (51) wp.org #13 ↓2 14 Very Simple Google Maps 3K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 exovia GDPR Google Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 miniOrange Embed Files for SharePoint/OneDrive 700+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 CodePeople Post Map for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.2★ (31) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 WP Map Block – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store & Shop Locator, Directory, Listings & Filters 20K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Snazzy Maps 30K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 GDPR-DSGVO compliant Embeds for Google Maps 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 Quick Maps – Google Maps Without API Key 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 All Embed – Multi-Source Embed Widgets for Elementor 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 MatrixMap – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Store Locator & World Maps 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑5 8 too high 24 Travel Map 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.