WP Custom Author URL
by Poodle Plugins · Login & Users
Also makes 3 other plugins · 5.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Set a custom URL for your author name link, on a global or author-specific basis. Also redirects all author pages.
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
B 83/100
Few reviews
Active installs
5K+
≈5.7K estimated
Momentum
+40%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “banner” and “profile” for “author name” and “author pages”. “banner” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “author name” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “profile” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “author pages” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
83 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →17%
of downloads still active
At least 5K of 29.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,476 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 207 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.22★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
33
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
12%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| author url your tag | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| custom author | #4 | #10 | down 1 |
| remove author url | #2 | #5 | 0 |
| custom url your tag | #7 | #17 | 0 |
| author name | #7 | #14 | — |
| url | #10 | #12 | down 2 |
| override author name | #4 | #8 | down 1 |
| author your tag | #13 | #16 | down 3 |
| author pages | #13 | #18 | 0 |
| custom author name | #8 | #18 | 0 |
| author profile | #15 | #17 | down 2 |
| authors | #20 | #21 | down 4 |
| custom page url | #12 | #22 | — |
| author page | #12 | #17 | up 1 |
| author by | #14 | #18 | down 1 |
| author link | #14 | #18 | down 2 |
| from url | #15 | #15 | 0 |
| remove author link | #15 | #19 | down 1 |
| wordpress author | #19 | #21 | down 1 |
| custom banner | #20 | #20 | up 1 |
| banner your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| profile your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
46 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 21 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “banner” and “profile” for “author name” and “author pages”. “banner” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “author name” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “profile” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “author pages” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “author”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 4.9K · 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
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
7mo ago
latest release · v2.1.0 · 7 Apr 2026
10
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 88% 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 “5K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 73% of the way through.
Install history since 12 Nov 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ teck874.0y ago
It works perfectly -> Twenty Twenty-One -> 6.1. Thakns Mr Chris Allen.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ benjamin474.9y ago
It therefore allows us to modify the author’s link in order to create a redirect anywhere. You can define a different link for each author, or a link for all the authors. In addition, it also makes it possible to hide the identifier of the author when hovering with the mouse. Yoast SEO (which I really like) allows author archives to be disabled to avoid duplicate content, but unfortunately that links to the homepage which in my view is not very good for user experience. By clicking on the author’s link, we expect to be redirected to a personalized page “about the author” for example. Well, that’s exactly what WP Custom Author URL can do. Suggestion : if there was a checkbox to define the opening of the link in a new tab (in the case of an external link, Twitter for example), and a field to customize the “title” attribute of the link , that would be really excellent 🙂 I hope this plugin will stay up to date for a very long time 😉 Good work !
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ chaoti6.0y ago
A brilliant plugin. Now you can create custom author pages and have the author link under a post point directly to the corresponding page. This can be set individually for each user in the profile. Alternatively, all author links can be redirected to a single page. I love the plugin. It solves a big problem.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ellanpix6.7y ago
The plugin answered my problem.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kirtikjr6.7y ago
Works wonderfully with the latest version of wordpress
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Baron947.1y ago
I have been searching for a solution to hiding my username when someone hovered over my author’s link on posts. It boggled my mind that WordPress would allow such a hole in their armor as this for hackers to abuse. Finally, I can have some authority over what information readers and nefarious people can see with a little nudge of their mouse. Thank you, Chris, for developing this plug-in. One less thing I have to code. 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous7.5y ago
It’s always bugged me that author URLs were so inflexible, and this is the perfect approach to that. It even redirects the existing author URLs.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sgtberbatov7.5y ago
I installed this because I didn’t want my author’s username to be accessible to crawlers and other users, while I wanted to maintain an author’s biography page so readers could see more about the author. This plugin is a god send as it allows me to do both of these. And what’s more it does it in a very easy fashion!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.1.0 Localization to zh_TW and related fixes, Thanks to https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexclassroom/ 2.1.0
- — Version 2.0.2 Remove unnecessary enqueue_scripts call in admin. 2.0.2
- — Version 2.0.1 Bug fixes. 2.0.1
- — Version 2.0.0 Full codebase rewrite. Remove code fluff, restructure code. 2.0.0
- — Version 1.0.5 Fix a minor vulnerability in the admin settings page, where a user could potentially insert unescaped HTML into the settings page. 1.0.5
- — Version 1.0.4 Fix a file structure error introduced by yours truly, causing plugin activation to break. 1.0.4
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (2.1.0). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 4.4 WP Custom Author URL <= 1.0.4 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2023-04-18 CVE-2023-1614 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects < 1.0.5 Patched in 1.0.5
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.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.6.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 1 at 90% or more
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Set a custom URL for your author name link, on a global or author-specific basis. Also redirects all author..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you want"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions LinkedIn, Twitter.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 796 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "banner" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-02-06 4K+ → 5K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-05 5K+ → 4K+ down after 269 days in tier
- 2025-05-12 4K+ → 5K+ up after 545 days in tier
- 2023-11-14 3K+ → 4K+ up after 160 days in tier
- 2023-06-07 2K+ → 3K+ up after 246 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 800+ → 2K+ up after 671 days in tier
- 2020-12-02 100+ → 800+ 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).
-
Meks Smart Author Widget 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C -
Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags B -
Smart Custom Display Name 200+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Author Spotlight (Widget) 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D - A Author Profiler 50+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
- D DT Author Box 50+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Custom Author URL into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-custom-author-url" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Custom Author URL — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Custom Author URL: 5K+ active installs, 5.0★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-custom-author-url
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