Disable Search
by Scott Reilly · Search
Also makes 64 other plugins · 78.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Disable the built-in front-end search capabilities of WordPress.
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
C 63/100
Stale
Active installs
30K+
≈38K estimated
Momentum
+12%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “disable” and “search” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
63 health vs 63 average across 979 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.9%
of downloads still active
At least 30K of 436.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 645 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2026-02-27Reviewers say it does one job and does it well, activate and search is gone, with one older report of it breaking Jetpack galleries and the Google Maps API.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 565 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
4.7★ over 16 reviews, smoothed to 4.25★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 565 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 24d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 24d
-0.7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| coffee2code your tag | #2 | #2 | down 1 |
| disable search | #10 | #12 | down 1 |
| disable your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “disable” and “search” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 21.7K · 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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
1.5y ago
latest release · v2.1.1 · 14 Apr 2025
23
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 77% 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 “30K+”. 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 40K.
Install history since 15 Nov 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ kojot8mo ago
super
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ awesiome2.0y ago
Does exactly what it says. Just activate and it completely disables all default WordPress search functionality from the frontend.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Fumiki Takahashi2.5y ago
In 2024, numerous bots are crawling sites, generating significant search spam. Generally, site search incurs high costs, primarily because we end up paying for CPU resources consumed by spam. If site search is not crucial for your website, I recommend activating this plugin. Thank you, Scott, for maintaining this simple yet effective plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dennis4.7y ago
Simple and Very Handful
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ aliakey74.8y ago
Love this plugin! Really didn’t want a search bar on my site and this took care of the problem. I have used this plugin for about a year with no hiccups at all. Thank you for developing it!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gerlofdelange5.1y ago
I was looking for hours to hide the search form in the theme I am using. This plugin worked in 2 clicks: install and activate Really great!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jimmy Lee6.6y ago
Great plugin! Thanks for allowing search functions to remain for Admin Backend!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Harry7.3y ago
does what it says. no options is much better.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- 2025-04-14 Version 2.1.1 Change: Discontinue unnecessary explicit loading of textdomain Hardening: Ensure translated error message doesn’t contain markup Change: Note compatibility through WP 6.8+ Change: Note compatibility through PHP 8.3+ Chan 2.1.1
- 2024-08-08 Version 2.1 Change: Remove the admin bar search field with a higher priority than what it was changed to in WP 6.6. Change: Check if core/search block is registered before attempting to unregister. Props toru. Change: Note compatibi 2.1
- 2023-09-02 Version 2.0.1 Change: Safeguard JS from throwing error if WP JS isn’t loaded (should be rare to never) Change: Note compatibility through WP 6.3+ Change: Update copyright date (2023) Change: Tweak code alignment New: Add .gitignore fi 2.0.1
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 10 languages, 5 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
5 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 6 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Yoast.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 3 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,600 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 3 tags appear in the text; "coffee2code" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-27 40K+ → 30K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-08-26 30K+ → 40K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-08-25 40K+ → 30K+ down after 1421 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 30K+ → 40K+ up after 511 days in tier
- 2021-05-11 20K+ → 30K+ up after 486 days in tier
- 2020-01-11 10K+ → 20K+ up after 921 days in tier
- 2017-07-04 9K+ → 10K+ up after 193 days in tier
- 2016-12-23 6K+ → 9K+ up after 262 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).
- C Classic Widgets 2M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag B
-
Search Regex 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search & Replace 100K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag C -
String locator 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Disable Comments 100K+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Search into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/disable-search" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Disable Search — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Disable Search: 30K+ active installs, 4.7★ (16 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-search
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