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

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 widgets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Essential Widgets shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) 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 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Widget Content Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Guest Author 5K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #22 23 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Essential Widgets 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) 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.