Better Author Metabox
by shooflydesign · Admin & Utilities
Lets you safely override the built-in Author metabox with one that includes more users.
45 health vs 54 average across 3,791 Admin & Utilities plugins
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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.3.23, well behind 6.8.
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
Biggest win: Update recency
To rank higher: Last updated 2477 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Daily downloads
Since 2022-10-06 · 1,426 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges
125
now · peak 134
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
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
6.8y ago
latest release · v1.0.5
5
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 “20+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.
Install history · since 2020-08-08 · 1,386 observations
Estimated value
What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.
Est. annual revenue
Est. acquisition value
No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.
Details
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Themes Pedia10.3y ago
The plugin is very useful. Thank you. In my case, i have a lot of members to set author for new posts, it’s very difficult to select exactly author. Could you make some functions in future: – Option to show user id with user name (in dropdown box) – Option to show small avatar per each user (eg 16×16 pixels, round style) – Option to sort User by Name, Id. – So far we can have a glossary index by alphabet first’s letter for username in dropdown list. Thank you so much.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3.1
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-05-01 30+ → 20+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2025-04-24 20+ → 30+ up after 60 days in tier
- 2025-02-23 30+ → 20+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2025-02-20 20+ → 30+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-02-19 30+ → 20+ down after 5 days in tier
- 2025-02-14 20+ → 30+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2025-02-11 30+ → 20+ down after 111 days in tier
- 2024-10-23 40+ → 30+ down after 74 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).
-
View Admin As 9K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags C -
Fast User Switching 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C -
User Spam Remover 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D - U Users by Date Registered 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Loginizer 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Redux Framework 900K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Better Author Metabox into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/better-author-metabox" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Better Author Metabox — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Better Author Metabox: 20+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/better-author-metabox