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← Rankings

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

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 “display author”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #7 8 W WP Display Header 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #8 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #24 ↓3 15 too low 10 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 Edit Author Slug 100K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 W WP Author Slug 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 ( (Simply) Guest Author Name 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #17 18 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Smart Custom Display Name 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Change WooCommerce Product Author – Transfer Ownership of WooCommerce Products 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Hide Author Archive 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.