Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes
by Johan van der Wijk · Uncategorized
Also makes 3 other plugins · 22.5K+ installs across the portfolio →
Disables the WordPress update checking and notification system for all core, plugin and theme updates.
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
A 85/100
Few reviews
Active installs
9K+
≈10K estimated
Momentum
-7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “plugin update” for “disable plugin updates”. “plugin update” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #14. “disable plugin updates” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
85 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →7.3%
of downloads still active
At least 9K of 123.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,765 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 3 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 4 reviews to 2024-12-15Reviewers like how simple and effective it is, though one wants per-plugin control instead of disabling all updates at once.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 40 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
34
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
9%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| disable updates your tag | #3 | #7 | down 1 |
| theme updates | #3 | #13 | 0 |
| core plugins | #5 | #21 | 0 |
| disable theme updates | #3 | #8 | 0 |
| disable update | #3 | #8 | 0 |
| updates your tag | #6 | #17 | down 1 |
| theme update your tag | #6 | #19 | up 1 |
| disable plugin updates | #4 | #13 | down 1 |
| core update your tag | #7 | #16 | 0 |
| core plugin | #6 | #18 | 0 |
| wordpress core | #8 | #21 | 0 |
| core updates | #5 | #15 | up 1 |
| disable wordpress core updates | #3 | #12 | 0 |
| disable core updates | #3 | #11 | 0 |
| plugin updates | #6 | #21 | down 2 |
| wordpress updates | #7 | #20 | 0 |
| disable wordpress updates | #4 | #14 | down 1 |
| disable plugins updates | #4 | #14 | 0 |
| disable theme update | #4 | #14 | 0 |
| core | #14 | #20 | down 3 |
61 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 18 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “plugin update” for “disable plugin updates”. “plugin update” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #14. “disable plugin updates” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “plugin update”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 5.4K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
1mo ago
latest release · v1.4.4 · 21 Sep 2026
23
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 58% 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 “9K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band yesterday and the previous band took 4.1 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 10K.
Install history since 26 Oct 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ santoshsth11.9y ago
This plugin does what is says but it doesn’t give any choosing option at all. I don’t want to disable updates for all plugins. Found this plugin which provides more flexibility disabling core, updates, and as well gives options to choose for blocking specific plugin updates.https://wordpress.org/plugins/disable-email-notification-for-auto-updates/ This topic was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by santoshsth1.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bestwebmasternet3.1y ago
simple for good practices_)
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ francisca345783.2y ago
This is absolutely fantastic, whoever made this deserves to be paid!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ waqassaleem3785.8y ago
Just wondering why this Dimond doesn’t have even a single review. Love it 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 23 languages, 23 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
0 of 8 pass · checked 29 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 Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 420 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("core update", "disable updates", "plugin update" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-30 10K+ → 9K+ down after 1487 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 8K+ → 10K+ up after 346 days in tier
- 2021-10-23 7K+ → 8K+ up
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).
-
Disable Theme and Plugin Auto-Update Emails 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags D -
Disable All Updates & Notifications 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Remove Update Notification 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Disable WordPress Update Notifications and auto-update Email Notifications 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A - D Disable WordPress Core Update Email 2K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
- D Disable All WP Updates 300+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/disable-updates" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes: 9K+ active installs, 4.8★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-updates
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.