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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multi 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 “multi author”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

ThemeRuby Multi Authors – Assign Multiple Writers to Posts shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

A

Buried gem

Adminimize places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 254 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #5 ↓2 5 too high 11 A Adminimize 100K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #20 ↓2 9 too low 12 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #22 ↓5 9 too low 14 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46) wp.org #14 ↑10 4 too high 19 List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑3 14 too high 21 WP Multi Network 100+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Change WooCommerce Product Author – Transfer Ownership of WooCommerce Products 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 ThemeRuby Multi Authors – Assign Multiple Writers to Posts 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Authorsy – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Post Rating 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 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.