wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “conditional sidebar”
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 “conditional sidebar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Display During Conditional Shortcode shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Lightweight Sidebar Manager 80K+ · 4.2★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 
Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509)
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516)
wp.org #8 4 too low 5 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #15 8 too low 8 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 
Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #5 6 too high 12 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706)
wp.org #20 ↓6 7 too low 14 
YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
SMK Sidebar Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 12 too high 16 
CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46)
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 
Extra Fees for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (42)
wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too high 19 
Dynific Addons for Elementor (formerly Anywhere Elementor) 70K+ · 4.8★ (104)
wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
CartSuite – Cart All In One For WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (51)
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 
Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Display During Conditional Shortcode 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑2 15 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.