Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 profile”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 4K+ 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

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #3 ↓2 2 too high 6 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 User Profile Picture 40K+ · 4.6★ (59) wp.org #7 8 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too low 13 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #24 ↓3 11 too low 14 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑3 15 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #20 ↓7 4 too low 17 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18 WP User Profile Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too high 21 Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑7 5 too high 22 CiviCRM Profile Sync 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too high 24 Easy Author Avatar Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.