Disable Search

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share 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.

Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price.

Reviewers 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.

1. ★★★★★ kojot

   6mo ago

   super

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ awesiome

   1.8y ago

   Does exactly what it says. Just activate and it completely disables all default WordPress search functionality from the frontend.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Fumiki Takahashi

   2.3y 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 ↗
4. ★★★★★ Dennis

   4.5y ago

   Simple and Very Handful

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ aliakey7

   4.6y 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 ↗
6. ★★★★★ gerlofdelange

   4.9y 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 ↗
7. ★★★★★ Jimmy Lee

   6.4y ago

   Great plugin! Thanks for allowing search functions to remain for Admin Backend!

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ Harry

   7.1y ago

   does what it says. no options is much better.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7.2

Translated into 10 languages, 5 at 90% or more

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-08-25 40K+ → 30K+ down

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 C
• Disable Comments 100K+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag B

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Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Search into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Disable Search: 30K+ active installs, 4.7★ (16 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-25. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-search