Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “about author”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “about author”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

VK Post Author Display shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #3 4 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #1 ↑1 3 too high 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Edit Author Slug 100K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #22 ↓5 10 too low 13 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #15 ↑9 1 too low 15 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 WP About Author 500+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Easy Author Avatar Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 13 too high 24 Change WooCommerce Product Author – Transfer Ownership of WooCommerce Products 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.