Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Change Author Link Structure shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 600+ 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

ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 251 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 2 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #8 ↑7 4 too low 5 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #7 ↓1 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 #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Guest Author 5K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Change Author Link Structure 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↓1 9 too high 14 W WP Author Slug 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 ( (Simply) Guest Author Name 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 D Disable Author Archives 10K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #16 ↑5 4 too high 21 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #22 23 Hide Comment Author Link 1K+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.