Guest Author

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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.

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.

45 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 17 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 61% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 10 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ Nima Shayanfar

   2.0y ago

   The plugin works as advertised and is quite simple and handy. I have one request though. These days nofollowing the URL might be suitable for some admins. So it is missing.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Jin-Liang, Lin

   3.8y ago

   My site use the themes “Twenty Twenty-Two”. Custom URLs will not appear on the name.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ gunawan004

   4.1y ago

   Its good, but didnt save the guest data so i have to write the same data over and over again This topic was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by gunawan004. This topic was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by gunawan004.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ dhirajshah

   4.2y ago

   They don’t test their plugin with the best/higest selling premium themes, so they have zero clue if their plugin with work with those themes or not. They just blindly hope that their plugin works and if it doesn’t, it’s the Theme’s fault only.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ inspired888

   4.3y ago

   I am mostly writing this review to counter what was written here: crudoadmin — March 5, 2021 — Its a piece of junk In my experience, the URL, Description and Avatar boxes are only greyed out if you haven’t yet added an Author Name. If that first field (Name) is empty, then the other fields are disabled. This is to prevent people adding data to those other fields without providing an author name. Makes perfect sense to me. I suspect “crudoadmin” might not have taken the time to really test out what was going on. As for the plug-in itself … works well. Out theme was even able to pull in the image, URL, and description (in the same way it pulls in the image, URL, and Bio from a registered user/author). Which means this plug-in is storing that info in standard WordPress fields, as opposed to making something up (which was the case with the Simply Guest Author plug-in, which we had to ditch for that very reason).

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ crudoadmin

   5.7y ago

   It only allows to change Author to Guest and ad a name to the author, but it does not allow to add an Avatar (it’s greyed out) nor a url (it’s also greyed out) and in the post the “guest Author” name is not shown correctly but instead it shows the website’s admin user.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ Dinev Dmitry

   5.9y ago

   Great work, guys! Thanks!

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ lehmax

   6.7y ago

   It’s missing a few features that would make guest posts even more convenient, but other than that it’s very good.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 2.62 2026-05-05 minor code fix 2.62
2. — Version 2.61 2025-09-18 minor code fix 2.61
3. — Version 2.6 2025-08-11 minor code fixes 2.6
4. — Version 2.5 2023-12-05 Guest author name bug fix 2.5
5. — Version 2.4 2023-11-29 security fix 2.4
6. — Version 2.3 2022-11-22 minor fixes 2.3

All 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (2.62). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched Medium · 6.4 Guest Author <= 2.3 - Authenticated (Author+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2023-12-04 CVE-2023-49747 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.3 Patched in 2.4
2. Patched Medium · 6.4 Guest Author <= 2.3 - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2023-12-01 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.3 Patched in 2.4

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1

Translated into 9 languages, 7 at 90% or more

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.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-01-01 6K+ → 5K+ down after 1 days in tier
2. 2025-12-31 5K+ → 6K+ up after 4 days in tier
3. 2025-12-27 6K+ → 5K+ down after 2 days in tier
4. 2025-12-25 5K+ → 6K+ up after 1 days in tier
5. 2025-12-24 6K+ → 5K+ down after 4 days in tier
6. 2025-12-20 5K+ → 6K+ up after 2 days in tier
7. 2025-12-18 6K+ → 5K+ down after 1 days in tier
8. 2025-12-17 5K+ → 6K+ up after 59 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).

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Guest Author into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Guest Author: 5K+ active installs, 4.2★ (13 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/guest-author