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← Rankings

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

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 column”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WPC Admin Columns shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #3 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Authors List 5K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #21 22 Change WooCommerce Product Author – Transfer Ownership of WooCommerce Products 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 Leenkat Author Autocomplete 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Slug Search and Admin Columns 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.