Want your readers to vote on rankings without leaving your blog? The official YouPickBest WordPress plugin drops an interactive voting widget into any post or page. Readers pick winners in quick head-to-head matchups, and every article builds its own leaderboard from the votes cast right there on your page.
The plugin isn't listed in the WordPress.org directory yet, so for now you install it straight from GitHub. It takes about two minutes, and this guide walks through every step — with screenshots from a real WordPress install.
What the plugin does
The plugin is deliberately tiny. It adds a YouPickBest Ranking block for the block editor and a [youpickbest] shortcode for the Classic Editor. Both render the same thing: a lightweight placeholder that loads the voting widget in an iframe served by YouPickBest.
That design has a nice consequence — all the widget logic lives on our side. When we ship improvements, every embed on your site updates automatically. You never have to update the plugin just because the widget changed.
Step 1: Download the plugin from GitHub
Go to the latest release on GitHub and download youpickbest.zip from the Assets section.
One thing to avoid: don't use the green Code → Download ZIP button on the repository's front page. That gives you a raw development snapshot with the wrong folder name inside. The release zip in Assets is packaged specifically for WordPress.
Step 2: Upload it in your WordPress admin
In your WordPress admin, open Plugins → Add New Plugin and click Upload Plugin at the top. Choose the youpickbest.zip you just downloaded and click Install Now.
WordPress unpacks and installs it in a few seconds:
Step 3: Activate it
Click Activate Plugin. That's the entire setup — there are no settings pages, no API keys, and nothing to configure. The plugin is ready the moment it's active.
Step 4: Embed a ranking in a post
Open any post in the block editor and type /youpickbest:
The block asks for one thing — a ranking. Paste the URL of any published ranking from YouPickBest, for example https://youpick.best/ranking/the-18-best-party-multiplayer-games, and click Embed:
the-18-best-party-multiplayer-games works too.The editor confirms which ranking you picked with a live preview:
Still writing in the Classic Editor? Use the shortcode instead — it renders exactly the same widget:
[youpickbest ranking="the-18-best-party-multiplayer-games"]
What your readers see
Publish the post and the widget appears where you placed the block. It loads lazily — nothing is fetched until a reader scrolls near it — and then invites them to play. Readers tap through head-to-head matchups, two options at a time:
When they finish, they get a leaderboard built from votes cast on your page — not the global results. Every article grows its own ranking from its own audience, which makes the results feel like a conversation between your readers:
Embed your own ranking
You can embed any published ranking, but it lands differently when it's yours. Create a ranking — it's free and you can build the whole thing before signing in — publish it, and paste its URL into the block. If you're new to head-to-head rankings, start with how to create one.
Common questions
Will the plugin update automatically?
Not yet. WordPress only auto-updates plugins installed from WordPress.org, so until we're listed there, updating means downloading the newer release zip and uploading it the same way — WordPress replaces the old version and your posts are untouched. The widget itself is different: it lives on our servers and improves automatically without any plugin update.
Is it safe to install a plugin from GitHub?
Installing from GitHub is only as safe as the source, so stick to the official repository: github.com/youpickbest/wordpress-plugin. The plugin is open source under the GPL, it's a few small files you can read in full, and it stores nothing on your server — no database tables, no settings, no user data.
Does the widget slow down my site?
No. The plugin adds one small script tag, and the widget iframe only loads when a reader scrolls near it. Until then your page carries a lightweight placeholder.
Do my readers need a YouPickBest account to vote?
No. Voting in the widget is anonymous — readers just tap their picks. Their result is remembered in their browser, so returning visitors see the leaderboard instead of being asked to vote twice.
Which rankings can I embed?
Any published ranking on YouPickBest, unless its author has turned off embedding in the ranking settings. If a ranking can't be embedded, the block tells you when you paste the link.