Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “authors”

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 “authors”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Authors Posts Widget shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 80+ 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

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 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 3 too low 4 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too high 7 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Authors List 5K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 Guest Author 5K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 D Disable Author Archives 10K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #18 ↑4 2 too high 21 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too high 22 Product Author for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Authors Posts Widget 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 ThemeRuby Multi Authors – Assign Multiple Writers to Posts 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.