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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visibility”

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 “visibility”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Menu Visibility Control shows at wp.org #15 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 600+ 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

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 424 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7507) wp.org #2 3 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1280) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Visibility Logic for Elementor 20K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Content Visibility for Divi Builder 2K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (424) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Product Visibility by User Role for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.7★ (20) wp.org #12 ↑4 1 too high 14 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 Visibility Controls for Editor Blocks 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Osom Block Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Menu Visibility Control 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility 10K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Product Visibility by Country for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Responsive Visibility — Show or Hide Blocks by Device, Custom Breakpoints & Conditions 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.