Change Author Base
by Rathly Marketing · SEO
Also makes 2 other plugins · 80+ installs across the portfolio →
Take control of your WordPress author URLs by customizing the default 'author' base to match your brand.
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
B 81/100
Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈17 estimated
Momentum
+26%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “author pages” for “author base”. “author pages” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “author base” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
81 health vs 65 average across 2,217 SEO plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.7%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 1.4K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median SEO plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,193 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other SEO plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 142 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
41
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
+0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 25d
20%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 25d
+0.6
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 base | #6 | #22 | up 2 |
| author pages your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom urls your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| permalinks your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| url rewrite your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 4 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “author pages” for “author base”. “author pages” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “author base” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 25 Dec 2024 · 675 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 69 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,100 to #45,000, alongside the other plugins at 10+ 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 21 Oct 2026.
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.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 15 Sep 2026
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 1 at 90% or more
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
6 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 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("perfect for"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Multisite.
- ✓ Headings and lists 4 headings and 4 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,334 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "custom URLs", "url rewrite" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
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).
-
Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
No Category Parents 6K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag B -
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Change Author Base into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/change-author-base" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Change Author Base — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Change Author Base: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/change-author-base
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