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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “video 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 “video embed”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 572 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Wonder Video Embed 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #9 ↑9 3 too low 7 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WP Video Lightbox 30K+ · 4.3★ (67) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Easy Video Player 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #10 11 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Lite Video Embed 1K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #6 ↓2 6 too high 13 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #18 ↓13 5 too low 14 Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #23 ↓9 8 too low 16 Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files 50K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 Product Video Gallery for Woocommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (97) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #19 ↓10 1 too low 19 Code Embed 10K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Video Gallery for WooCommerce – Add Product Video & Featured Video 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 4K+ · 4.0★ (34) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.