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← Rankings

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

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 “url embed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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 #4 but places #21 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

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 Embed PDF Viewer 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #1 2 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too low 3 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #3 4 Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Code Embed 10K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Wonder PDF Embed 8K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 EMC – Embed Calendly Scheduling With Ease 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 miniOrange Embed Files for SharePoint/OneDrive 700+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Automatic YouTube Gallery – Embed Auto-Updating YouTube Video Galleries, Feeds, Playlists & Channels 9K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Interact Quiz & Form Embed 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 G Github Embed 1K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Embed Lottie Player – bring your pages to life with animation 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 Online Forms — Customizable Payment, Contact, Quiz, Survey Form Builder – Jotform 20K+ · 3.2★ (29) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Forward: Embed Image Links 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Embed Block for TikTok 500+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Embed Block for GitHub 400+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.