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WP Custom Author URL vs Meks Smart Author Widget

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

WP Custom Author URL is the safest pick: health B · 80 against 53 for Meks Smart Author Widget, led by lower removal risk.

Active-install trajectory

No change to chart. WordPress.org reports active installs in coarse bands, so neither plugin crossed a band during this window. The download trend below moves daily and is the better read over a period this short.

Metric	WP Custom Author URL	Meks Smart Author Widget
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	5K–6K	10K–20K ✓
Active installs, change over ~6 months Compares the public install bands. One band step shows as the band change, not a percentage.	Stable	Stable
Overall health	B · 80 ✓	D · 53
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	83/100 ✓	20/100
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	84/100 ✓	79/100
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	70/100	70/100
Rating (weighted for review count)	4.3★ ✓	4.1★
Reviews	8	8
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	86/100 ✓	60/100
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	Low ✓	Elevated
Last updated	7mo ago ✓	2.3y ago
Downloads, last 30d	554	1.3K ✓
Download momentum, last 30d vs prior 30d Dips that follow a release spike are normal: wp.org counts every update as a download, so the weeks after a release run lower.	+47%	+36%
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	17% ✓	2.3%
Category	Login & Users	Login & Users

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

WP Custom Author URLMeks Smart Author Widget

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.