Advanced Category Excluder

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.

Reviewers who just want to hide a category say it works, but several report PHP errors from deprecated functions and say support requests go unanswered.

1. ★★★★★ sipo

   8.2y ago

   Works great!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ gresakg

   9.6y ago

   This plugin should be updated ASAP. Basically it does the job, but unfortunately it contains deprecated php functions that do not work on php 7 and produce warnings on php 5.4 and above. The development team is unresponsive so I guess the plugin is abandoned.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Yui

   10.2y ago

   $cats = split(',',get_option("ace_categories_norobots")); Error thrown Call to undefined function split() split() can be replaced with explode() I see a support topic 4 month old with same issue, but unresponsive

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ Manas Mitra

   11.0y ago

   In my site, I have a Blog page which shows all the posts categorized as Blog. I have another page which shows only the posts which are categorized as Premium. Also I can select posts having Premium category only from a side bar specific to this page. I have used Content Aware Sidebar and Posts To Pages plugin to achieve this result. The Blog page side bar has Search, Recent Post & archive option, Recent Post is showing only posts with Blog category but the rest two (Search & Archives) are showing all the above categories (Blog & Premium). I need only the posts from Blog category to be accessed through this side bar. Is it possible to do this? Can anyone guide me up how to tackle this problem? From my description, it may seem a bit complicated, but this is the only way I found working for me.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ Stieks

   11.1y ago

   I am doing a travel agency’s website and I only wanted a few posts showing on the home page. I activated the plugin, selected the categories I didn’t want to see…and like magic they were gone. Thank you for a fantastic problemsolver!!!

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ zzmonty

   11.2y ago

   On the front page, when I exclude a category, it excludes it both on the main content and in the sidebar. I wanted a category excluded from the main content, but not the sidebar. I tried all of the settings related to the main page, and nothing worked. This is true even for a widget that is just a specific category. Also, the plugin does not seem to be currently supported, and I could not find a way to submit a bug. I am trying to use the plugin on a website for cat adoptions. When a cat is adopted, the cat’s category is changed from “available for adoption” to “adopted”. We want to display the adopted cat’s in a widget on the side (small pictures), but not on the main flow of the home page (large pictures). Except for this one scenario, the plugin works as described. And once you understand how to use it, it is easy to use. The website is http://scarletpawsanimalwelfare.org

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ KingSky

   11.3y ago

   I’m using a slider plugin that uses posts you select as the slides. I don’t want these showing up in the main blog page. I created their own category ‘sliders’ and then in this plugin I just selected that category to hide globally. Poof, gone! 🙂

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ aklievvel

   11.6y ago

   Exactly what I was looking for

   Read on wp.org ↗

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4

Translated into 84 languages, 0 at 90% or more

Plus 60 more locales with partial translations.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-07-19 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
2. 2026-07-18 600+ → 700+ up after 2 days in tier
3. 2026-07-16 700+ → 600+ down after 6 days in tier
4. 2026-07-10 700+ → 600+ down after 180 days in tier
5. 2026-01-11 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
6. 2026-01-10 700+ → 800+ up after 2 days in tier
7. 2026-01-08 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
8. 2026-01-07 700+ → 800+ up after 36 days in tier

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

• GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
• RSS for Yandex Turbo 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags C
• RSS Includes Pages 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
• Search and Replace 10K+ installs · 3.4★ · 2 shared tags B
• Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
• F FeedWordPress 9K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Advanced Category Excluder into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Advanced Category Excluder: 600+ active installs, 3.3★ (16 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/advanced-category-excluder