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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “iframe widget”

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 “iframe widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Exchange Rates Widget shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ 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

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 Advanced iFrame 40K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #15 ↑4 8 too low 8 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Custom iFrame – Embed PDFs, Videos, and External Content in WordPress (Elementor & Gutenberg) 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↓1 7 too high 11 GR Widget – Google Reviews Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 too high 12 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Currency Converter Widget 2K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 WP Telegram Widget and Join Link 4K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #19 ↓5 2 too high 22 Cryptocurrency Price Widget 200+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Exchange Rates Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.