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← Rankings

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

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 information”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Hide Author Archive shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 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 #1 2 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too low 7 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 ( (Simply) Guest Author Name 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 B bbp buddypress profile information 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 B bbp profile information 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 15 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.