Block Manager
by Darren Cooney · Blocks
Also makes 8 other plugins · 36.9K+ installs across the portfolio →
Disable unwanted blocks and patterns, organize blocks by changing categories - complete control over your WordPress Block Editor experience.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 85/100
no flags
Active installs
4K+
≈4.8K estimated
Momentum
+118%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “disable blocks” and “remove blocks” for “unwanted” and “block controls”. “disable blocks” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “unwanted” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “remove blocks” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “block controls” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
85 health vs 71 average across 2,524 Blocks plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.9%
of downloads still active
At least 4K of 103.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Blocks plugin keeps 2.1%, across 1,578 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Blocks plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 3 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 144 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 13 reviews, smoothed to 4.27★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
21%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| block manager | #3 | #6 | 0 |
| remove patterns your tag | #5 | #8 | 0 |
| block category your tag | #8 | #12 | up 1 |
| disable patterns your tag | #9 | #16 | down 1 |
| block editor removal | #5 | #11 | 0 |
| unwanted | #13 | #19 | 0 |
| remove blocks your tag | #20 | #22 | up 1 |
| block controls | #15 | #17 | up 2 |
| block patterns | #18 | #19 | 0 |
| block pattern | #18 | #17 | down 2 |
| hide block | #18 | #20 | down 1 |
| disable block | #13 | #16 | up 1 |
| html block | #24 | #22 | 0 |
| disable updates manager | #17 | #23 | 0 |
| remove block directory | #17 | #20 | — |
| disable blocks your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
61 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 15 listed. 46 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “disable blocks” and “remove blocks” for “unwanted” and “block controls”. “disable blocks” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “unwanted” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “remove blocks” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “block controls” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 4.7K · peaks are release surges
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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v3.2.1 · 10 Jun 2026
19
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 71% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “4K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 5K.
Install history since 8 Jan 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ jaloin10mo ago
Brilliant solution!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Christian Saborio1.5y ago
What a wonderful plugin! It’s amazing how WP adds all kinds of crap and no way to turn it off – I don’t use patterns, don’t want my clients to use them, and this is the perfect solution to avoid these types of issues. Fantastic way to remove unwanted core blocks as well, sanity at last, THANK YOU!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ magicratfish2.7y ago
Great plugin, thank you. Let me tame my plug in beast and bring order to the Press. I combined it with the php filter ‘block_categories_all’ to move them to my own categories as well. Together, they have made a world of difference.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Milan Ivanovic3.1y ago
Extremely useful plugin and one of the first I added to all of my installs. Thank you, Darren!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Skylabb4.0y ago
I wanted to like this plug for the nice UI design. When I open the block manager screen, the two grey tabs where block listings are suppose to display are empty. It looks like some kind of glitch. Update: I added a couple more review stars for author’s response. Hopefully the issue gets fixed soon. This topic was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by Skylabb.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tomreed254.1y ago
Having the ability to disable some of the more obscure, unnecessary blocks is essential and this plugin features on every site I work on. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wp2019s4.8y ago
It makes the job done! Thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous User5.4y ago
I love this plugin! I already had my own code to whitelist certain blocks in the editor, but I couldn’t figure how to remove certain core-embed blocks. But with this plugin, I’m able to remove those blocks as well! I abandoned my custom code and just used this instead. It would be nice to see it have a feature to restrict blocks to certain roles. PublishPress Blocks has this, but it’s very clunky and also adds its own blocks. I prefer a simple Block Manager like this one //updated my review again because it now works This topic was modified 4 years, 12 months ago by anonymized-18776641. This topic was modified 4 years, 12 months ago by anonymized-18776641.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.2.1 UPDATE: Added compatibility check with WP 7.0. UPDATE: Various code refactoring and organization. 3.2.1
- — Version 3.2.0 NEW: Added support for Stretchy Paragraph and Stretchy Heading block variations. Fix: Fixed issue with Embed block variation display. NEW: Added WordPress version detection to improve compatibility with future WP release 3.2.0
- — Version 3.1.2 FIX: Fixed issue WP 6.9 and missing required sprintf package. UPDATE: Project dependency updates. 3.1.2
- — Version 3.1.1 FIX: Fixed issue with rendering block icons of various plugins. Now using default WP block editor BlockIcon rendering. FIX: Fixed issue with blocks not showing in Block Manager when being registered using enqueue_block_a 3.1.1
- — Version 3.1.0 UPDATE: New admin UI. UPDATE: Various changes for upcoming Block Manager Pro plugin. 3.1.0
- — Version 3.0.0 NEW: Added support for disabling block patterns and core block patterns. FIX: Fixed incorrect number of filtered blocks display in Blocks sidebar. FIX: Fixed issue with return value in admin_footer text. UPDATE: Updated 3.0.0
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 8 languages, 3 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Disable unwanted blocks and patterns, organize blocks by changing categories - complete control over your W..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("perfect for"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Block editor, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter.
- ! Headings and lists 6 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,848 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "block category", "remove patterns" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-24 5K+ → 4K+ down after 26 days in tier
- 2026-07-29 4K+ → 5K+ up after 511 days in tier
- 2025-03-05 3K+ → 4K+ up after 96 days in tier
- 2024-11-29 4K+ → 3K+ down after 54 days in tier
- 2024-10-06 3K+ → 4K+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2024-10-02 4K+ → 3K+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2024-09-26 3K+ → 4K+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2024-09-21 4K+ → 3K+ down after 1 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).
-
Classic Editor + 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Disable Gutenberg Blocks – Block Manager 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag D -
Zero Blocks Given 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag -
Rootstuff Block Permissions — installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag -
Daisy Disable Blocks — Disable Gutenberg, Enable Classic Editor, Disable Block Editor — installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag -
Caledros Helper — installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Block Manager into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/block-manager" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Block Manager — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Block Manager: 4K+ active installs, 4.9★ (13 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/block-manager
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