Simply Change Author URL
by Devi · Security
Changes wordpress user slug for security, it prevents access to the usernames of registered users on your site.
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
40+
≈45 estimated
Momentum
+14%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “author”, “author base” and “author slug” 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 66 average across 1,778 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.9%
of downloads still active
At least 40 of 2.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Security plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,061 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Security plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 4+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 6.0.18.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 1561 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.0.18; the current branch is 6.8
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: Last updated 1561 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 | ||
| author base your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| author slug your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| permalink your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 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
- “author”, “author base” and “author slug” 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 6 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 75 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #21,400 to #22,800, alongside the other plugins at 40+ 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.
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.
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
4.3y ago
latest release · v1.1.2 · 25 Jul 2022
4
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 “40+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 54% of the way through.
Install history since 5 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tnightingale4.3y ago
This is a must have, no-frills plugin for any member site where you have member profiles. By default WordPress uses the username as the slug for the author.php-based profile – a big security issue. This plugin does exactly what it says it should – uses the user ID instead, and lets you change the base slug as well. I have never used such a new plugin before or one with less than thousands of instalments, and no reviews, but decided to take a chance as it was just what I was looking for. I did find a couple of issues, and the author responded right away with tips to solve one and a new version to fix the others and make the plugin even better. Maybe one day this will become core. It should be.
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 29 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 Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Yoast.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 632 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("author base", "author slug", "permalink" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-18 50+ → 40+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2026-05-12 40+ → 50+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-09 50+ → 40+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-05-07 40+ → 50+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-04 50+ → 40+ down after 20 days in tier
- 2026-04-14 40+ → 50+ up after 29 days in tier
- 2026-03-16 50+ → 40+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2026-03-12 40+ → 50+ up after 2 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).
-
Edit Author Slug 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags C -
Smart User Slug Hider 2K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A - W WP Author Slug 3K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
- R Restrict Usernames Emails Characters 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
-
SF Author Url Control 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D -
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simply Change Author URL into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simply-change-author-url" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simply Change Author URL — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simply Change Author URL: 40+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simply-change-author-url
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