Meks Smart Author Widget

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.

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.

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.

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 · 99% 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 17 months ago; the previous band took 2.1 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ naveenyouth

   3.1y ago

   My theme didn’t come with an author box; so, I’m using this plugin. This is an excellent plugin which works well on all devices!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ JJNW

   6.7y ago

   This is an amazing plugin, period. Lots of widget options, from size of avatar to automatically detect author (by the posts they published – VERY COOL), from linking authors name to link showing all their posts in the author’s box! It’s a GREAT plugin. The ONLY thing I wish it had, that would have made it 6 stars (if that’s even possible LOL) would have been able to remove, else select NONE in “Choose author/user” drop down list. The Automatically Detect Author is too good, unto itself! 🙂 But just that one option, NONE in “Choose author/user” would have made this the most perfect of all author blocks out there. The reason why none, is I don’t want to show admin (me) on every page outside of actual posts (would rather not have it on pages, just actual posts). Great work, thank you for this awesome plugin! PS plugin IS RESPONSIVE (tested on multiple browsers, trust). This topic was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by JJNW. This topic was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by JJNW.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ brandontyler024

   9.0y ago

   Simply not responsive out of the box.

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

   10.2y ago

   This was the best plugin I could find for displaying an author profile in the sidebar.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ sublines

   10.3y ago

   Works well out of the box and is easily configurable. Looks good from the start.

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

   10.4y ago

   I’ve made a big search with a lot of widgets breaking or simply not working. This widget worked fine and is also configurable.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ helibertoarias

   12.1y ago

   This plugging work fine.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ helibertoarias

   12.1y ago

   This plugging work fine.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.1.5 WP 6.6 compatibility tested Patched a minor security issue 1.1.5
2. — Version 1.1.4 WP 6.3 compatibility tested Patched a minor security issue 1.1.4
3. — Version 1.1.3 Fixed: Compatibility with Widget editor in WP 5.8 1.1.3
4. — Version 1.1.2 Added: Notification for meks plugins 1.1.2
5. — Version 1.1.1 Fixed: Co-authors were being displayed on author archives (appeared in version 1.1) 1.1.1
6. — Version 1.1 Added: Option to limit characters in author description Added: Support to work with for Co-authors plus WordPress plugin (if “auto detect author” is checked) 1.1

All 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.1.5). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched Medium · 6.4 Meks Smart Author Widget <= 1.1.4 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2024-07-10 CVE-2024-37958 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.1.4 Patched in 1.1.5
2. Patched Medium · 4.3 Meks Smart Social Widget <= 1.6 - Cross-Site Request Forgery via meks_remove_notification ↗
   2023-07-26 CVE-2023-25989 Cross-Site Request Forgery Affects <= 1.1.3 Patched in 1.1.4

Translated into 58 languages, 1 at 90% or more · development strings

Plus 34 more locales with partial translations.

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. 2025-06-20 20K+ → 10K+ down after 764 days in tier
2. 2023-05-18 30K+ → 20K+ down after 1903 days in tier
3. 2018-03-02 20K+ → 30K+ up after 383 days in tier
4. 2017-02-12 10K+ → 20K+ up after 402 days in tier
5. 2016-01-07 8K+ → 10K+ up after 140 days in tier
6. 2015-08-20 7K+ → 8K+ up after 86 days in tier
7. 2015-05-26 6K+ → 7K+ up after 55 days in tier
8. 2015-04-01 5K+ → 6K+ up

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 Meks Smart Author Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Meks Smart Author Widget: 10K+ active installs, 4.5★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/meks-smart-author-widget