WP About Author
by Jon Bishop · Social
Also makes 6 other plugins · 2.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
Easily display customizable author bios below your posts
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
C 68/100
Stale
Active installs
500+
≈550 estimated
Momentum
+56%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “author box”, “post footer” and “social links” 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.
68 health vs 58 average across 1,836 Social plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.6%
of downloads still active
At least 500 of 81.6K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Social plugin keeps 0.5%, across 1,277 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Social plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 526 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
4.5★ over 17 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 526 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.
29
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.8
Velocity
places per keyword, 24d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 24d
-1.0
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| about author | #8 | #20 | 0 |
| about | #18 | #24 | down 1 |
| author bio your tag | #19 | #15 | down 1 |
| about author box | #14 | #18 | down 1 |
| about the author | #15 | #21 | down 1 |
| wp author bio | #18 | #17 | 0 |
| wordpress author bio | #24 | #16 | down 1 |
| author box your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post footer your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user profile your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
10 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 7 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “author box”, “post footer” and “social links” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 634 · peaks are release surges
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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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
1.4y ago
latest release · v1.6.3 · 25 May 2025
10
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 53% 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 “500+”. 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 25 Mar 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ afshink9.8y ago
خوبه that’s good
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ NicholasRossis11.0y ago
Does exactly what it says. I’m using it on a 4.4.2 installation and have found it useful to update people on my news – I just edit the Author field in my Profile, and any promos etc are shared on the fly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tanay.pratap11.2y ago
Everything works out well except the border around the picture. Give an option to turn it on or off. My -2 only for that!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ micheltam11.6y ago
The plugin does its job, but only for english speaking… :/ :° and with a horrible design by default. Fortunaltly we can modify design. But why a such design by default ?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ joshuabaer2311.6y ago
Simple as can be and effective. Css clearly put together for customization. No over weight scripts. Im happy.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Cristina12.0y ago
Easy to use and I like the clean design. Wish there were more options, ie Instagram icon
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous12.7y ago
Great, thanks.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Greg Ross13.0y ago
Give a nice clean about author box.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.6.3). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 WP About Author <= 1.5 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-02-24 CVE-2025-27323 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.5 Patched in 1.6
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Easily display customizable author bios below your posts"
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 727 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "author box", "post footer" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-18 600+ → 500+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-15 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-05-14 600+ → 500+ down after 241 days in tier
- 2025-09-15 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-09-14 600+ → 700+ up after 99 days in tier
- 2025-06-07 700+ → 600+ down after 190 days in tier
- 2024-11-29 800+ → 700+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2024-11-25 700+ → 800+ up after 1 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).
-
Tidy Author Box – Author Bio & Social Links 20+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Simple Author Box 90K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Starbox – the Author Box for Humans 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags C -
WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Authorsy – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Post Rating 1K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP About Author into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-about-author" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP About Author — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP About Author: 500+ active installs, 4.5★ (17 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-about-author
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