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← Rankings

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

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 list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles shows at wp.org #9 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #1 2 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Authors List 5K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 List category posts 70K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #10 ↓3 11 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too high 15 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 D Disable Author Archives 10K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 List Child Pages Shortcode 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Authors Posts Widget 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 500+ · 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.