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

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 word”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

PDF Embed Block – share documents right inside your posts shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Strong Testimonials places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 614 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 Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files 50K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #1 2 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Code Embed 10K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 miniOrange Embed Files for SharePoint/OneDrive 700+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too low 10 Strong Testimonials 80K+ · 4.8★ (614) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Lite Video Embed 1K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Embeds for YouTube 9K+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 PDF Embed Block – share documents right inside your posts 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Document Embedder Addons for Elementor – Embed Documents in Elementor Websites 6K+ · 3.7★ (7) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 PuzzleMe – Interactive Puzzles for WordPress – Easily publish crosswords, quizzes, word searches and more 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Mevabi – Word Search Puzzle Builder 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Mevabi – Daily Word Puzzle 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑3 7 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.