Simple Author Box

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

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. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

At the current install trend, crossing 100K+ in roughly 146 days.

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 declining trend compresses what a buyer would pay.

1. ★★★★★ Anonymous

   4mo ago

   This is a great plugin. Does the job and is easy to configure. Had a small issue with text alignment recently and the Dev was quick to respond and solved the problem in a single email. This topic was modified 3 months ago by Steve P (UK).

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Anonymous

   1.5y ago

   I’m quite happy with this plugin, didn’t expect too much, so it works well. But when I changed from Elon’s starving Twitter to Bluesky I was disappointed by the fact that a Bluesky icon was missing.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ ThinkTech | Themis Vasilop

   1.5y ago

   Congratulations to the creators, excellent plug in,

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ L.A. Randle

   2.1y ago

   When I download to use a plugin for the first time, I’m not interested being slapped in the face with a premium buy box. It’s a turn off. Give me a little time to experiment with the plugin before you try to sale me. I uninstalled it immediately.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ dglite

   2.3y ago

   Excellent, awesomeee + incredible plugin…

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ hustle144r

   2.8y ago

   Paid to upgrade and didn’t like the look of the box when moved up to the top of the post. It then screwed with the spacing of my theme. I immediately removed it but because I waited a few weeks to request the refund they wouldn’t refund it. Not a fan. And yes, I’m aware of the 7 day policy – just didn’t give me enough time to work with developers to try ti fix the issues. This topic was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by hustle144r.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ Chris

   3.4y ago

   It asks for you to go pro and it takes over the dashboard and covers everything not worth paying for in my opinion.

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

   3.5y ago

   I so wanted this to work and to give it 5 stars because it looked so good in the previews. OK, the free version does not work on a WordPress blog that does not have a static home page because all posts are on the home page. I get that. Switching to a static front page and a separate page for posts, it still does not work when the website is viewed. Presumably, this is because the posts are still on a page, and the free version does not work on pages. To use this app you need to buy one of the “pro” version options.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 2.61 2026-07-19 Minor fixes 2.61
2. — Version 2.60 2026-05-21 Minor fixes 2.60
3. — Version 2.59 2025-07-31 Removed dead social networks 2.59
4. — Version 2.58 2025-05-19 Fixed bug with social links formatting 2.58
5. — Version 2.56 2025-05-05 Updated Twitter icon to X Added new icons for BlueSky, TikTok and Patreon 2.56
6. — Version 2.55 2025-04-15 fixed Simple Author Box Widget CSS issue minor security fixes 2.55

3 disclosed vulnerabilities on record for this plugin, all fixed in the current version. Sites on older versions stay exposed until they update.

1. Medium · 4.3 Simple Author Box <= 2.51 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary User Sensitive Information Exposure ↗
   2023-07-24 CVE-2023-3601 Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key Affects <= 2.51 Patched in 2.52
2. Medium · 6.1 Freemius SDK <= 2.5.9 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via fs_request_get ↗
   2023-07-18 CVE-2023-33999 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') Affects <= 2.3.22 Patched in 2.4
3. Medium · 4.3 Simple Author Box <= 2.50 - Cross-Site Request Forgery via save_user_profile ↗
   2023-03-28 Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Affects <= 2.50 Patched in 2.51

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

Translated into 38 languages, 4 at 90% or more

Plus 14 more locales with partial translations.

Growth timeline

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

1. 2026-07-21 80K+ → 90K+ up after 2 days in tier
2. 2026-07-19 90K+ → 80K+ down after 88 days in tier
3. 2026-04-22 80K+ → 90K+ up after 83 days in tier
4. 2026-01-29 90K+ → 80K+ down after 15 days in tier
5. 2026-01-14 80K+ → 90K+ up after 161 days in tier
6. 2025-08-06 70K+ → 80K+ up after 540 days in tier
7. 2024-02-13 60K+ → 70K+ up after 1 days in tier
8. 2024-02-12 70K+ → 60K+ down after 4 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 Author Box Widget 60+ installs · 3.6★ · 5 shared tags C
• Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 600+ installs · 4.1★ · 4 shared tags B
• Meta Author Box — installs · 3.6★ · 4 shared tags C
• Magic Author Box — installs · 3.6★ · 4 shared tags B
• Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags A
• WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags A

Embed this report card

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

Simple Author Box: 90K+ active installs, 4.3★ (114 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-25. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-author-box