Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “author”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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

Default Post Author shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 7323 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 #1 2 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Guest Author 5K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #18 ↑5 10 too low 9 W WP Author Slug 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 ↑4 1 too high 11 D Disable Author Archives 10K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 ( (Simply) Guest Author Name 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓4 6 too low 15 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too high 17 Product Author for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Change Author Link Structure 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Easy Author Avatar Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓4 1 too low 23 Change Product Author For WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 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.