wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress username changer”

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 “wordpress username changer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 17.

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

SmartUsername – Change Username, Admin Username Changer & Login Protection shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Starbox – the Author Box for Humans places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 203 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Username Changer 40K+ · 4.3★ (77) wp.org #1 2

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 E Easy Username Updater 10K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6

B2BKing — Ultimate WooCommerce B2B and Wholesale Plugin — Wholesale Prices, Bulk Order Form & More 10K+ · 4.9★ (109) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7

Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

Starbox – the Author Box for Humans 10K+ · 4.5★ (203) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9

FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10

Datafeedr WooCommerce Importer 4K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 U Username 500+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #5 6 too high 12 A Admin username changer 100+ · 3.7★ (7) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13

SmartUsername – Change Username, Admin Username Changer & Login Protection 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 7 too high 14

PowerSuite Modular Admin Toolkit 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Mamotte! Login URL Changer — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 M Mentor Admin Username and Email Change 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 M MJP Security Tools 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 1 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.