Author Bio Shortcode
by Philip John · Login & Users
Also makes 8 other plugins · 440+ installs across the portfolio →
Provides the [author_bio] shortcode for embedding the bio of an author anywhere in the post/page content.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews · Open vulnerability
Active installs
90+
≈99 estimated
Momentum
+30%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “author”, “author description” and “bio” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
48 health vs 61 average across 2,204 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 90 of 9.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,477 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.0.38, well behind 6.8.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 4442 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.0.38; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4442 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| author your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| author description your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| bio your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| biography your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user description your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “author”, “author description” and “bio” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 106 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #16,800 to #17,400, alongside the other plugins at 90+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 1 Nov 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
12.2y ago
latest release · v2.5.3 · 3 Sep 2014
10
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “90+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago and the previous band took 3.7 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 100.
Install history since 24 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Frederic Legrand13.1y ago
was just looking for that one
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous User 726559713.8y ago
A very handy and useful plugin, although i’ve not installed it myself i’ve take the code and tweaked the output to show the authors social media links at the end of the post, taking information from the authors user profile. well recommended regardless.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (2.5.3). 0 of 1 disclosed are patched.
- Open Medium · 6.4 Author Bio Shortcode <= 2.5.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-04-01 CVE-2025-31731 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.5.3 No patch available
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
1 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 583 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "author description", "user description" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 100+ → 90+ down after 1359 days in tier
- 2022-10-20 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2022-10-19 100+ → 200+ up after 8 days in tier
- 2022-10-11 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2022-10-10 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2022-10-08 200+ → 100+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2022-10-05 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 600+ → 100+ down after 1916 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Simple Author Bio 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D -
WP Author Profile Widget 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D - S Short Bio Widget 30+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Individual Multisite Author 30+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A - R Remove Profile Bio 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
- A Author Bio Box 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Author Bio Shortcode into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/author-bio-shortcode" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Author Bio Shortcode — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Author Bio Shortcode: 90+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/author-bio-shortcode
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