Display Name Author Permalink
by Michael Torbert · Uncategorized
Also makes 4 other plugins · 330+ installs across the portfolio →
Replaces the username for author permalinks with the users display name. Returns a 404 if the author permalink using the actual username is used.
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
300+
≈340 estimated
Momentum
+32%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “author”, “display” and “display name author permalink” 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.
45 health vs 58 average across 25,755 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.4%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 12.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized 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
75/100Maintenance 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 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35, well behind 6.8.
- Reviews souring. Recent reviews read meaningfully worse than older ones, an early sign of decline.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 5 reviews to 2019-04-04Older reviewers loved it as a quick way to hide author usernames, but the most recent review reports broken username display and a 404, with a call to update.
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 3076 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
4.2★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.11★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3076 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 | ||
| display your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| display name author permalink your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| name your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| permalink 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”, “display” and “display name author permalink” 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 131 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ 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.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
8.4y ago
latest release · v1.1.1 · 31 May 2018
3
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 “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 40% of the way through.
At the current install trend, crossing 400+ in roughly 148 days.
Install history since 11 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ shahinsafari7.6y ago
Please update. Problem displaying username And error 404
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rambillo10.8y ago
Whenever we need this functionality for a client, this is our go-to solution. Still works like a charm.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ RudolfFiedler11.4y ago
Die Angriffe auf die Usernamen nehmen ständig zu. Das Plugin ist eine einfache, schnelle Lösung, um die Loginnamen der Autoren zu verstecken. Einfach und schnell installiert, keine weiteren Einstellungen nötig.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Martin Sauter11.6y ago
Does exactly what it should. I whish this was a standard feature of WordPress, because revealing user names is an invitation for brute force attacks.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ TigreTwoTwoTwo11.8y ago
Installed easily and rerouted my `get_author_posts_url’ from the user ID to the display name. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Replaces the username for author permalinks with the users display name. Returns a 404 if the author permal..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! 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 2 headings and 2 lists.
- ! Enough to quote 607 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-08 200+ → 300+ up after 40 days in tier
- 2026-04-29 300+ → 200+ down after 392 days in tier
- 2025-04-02 400+ → 300+ down after 407 days in tier
- 2024-02-20 500+ → 400+ down after 255 days in tier
- 2023-06-10 600+ → 500+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2023-06-08 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2023-06-07 600+ → 500+ down after 157 days in tier
- 2023-01-01 700+ → 600+ down after 39 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).
-
Smart User Slug Hider 2K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
SF Author Url Control 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D -
Change Author Link Structure 600+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Hide Author Archive 500+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B - B Buy This Book 90+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Simply Change Author URL 40+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Display Name Author Permalink into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/display-name-author-permalink" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Display Name Author Permalink — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Display Name Author Permalink: 300+ active installs, 4.2★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/display-name-author-permalink
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