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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “embeds”

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 “embeds”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Embed Optimizer shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Disable Embeds 10K+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 too low 7 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #12 ↓4 5 too low 8 Hydrogen Calendar Embeds 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Embed PDF Viewer 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too high 11 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #16 ↓6 5 too low 12 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #11 ↓4 1 too high 13 Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files 50K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Simple Like Page – Fast & Privacy-Friendly Page Embeds 10K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #8 ↑3 6 too high 15 Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↑5 6 too high 16 Code Embed 10K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too high 17 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓3 5 too low 18 Wonder PDF Embed 8K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 EMC – Embed Calendly Scheduling With Ease 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21 Wonder Video Embed 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 22 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 17 too high 23 Fediverse Embeds 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 RUS Video Embeds for VK Video, Rutube and Dzen 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.