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← Rankings

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

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 control”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Visibility Controls for Editor Blocks shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 900+ 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

Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1516 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Visibility Logic for Elementor 20K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Visibility Controls for Editor Blocks 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Visibility Control for LearnDash 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 22 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Osom Block Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Visibility Control for LearnPress 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 10 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.