Disable Visual Editor WYSIWYG
by stanxp · Admin & Utilities
This plugin will disable the visual editor for selected page/post..
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
D 51/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
1K+
≈1.6K estimated
Momentum
-18%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “disable” and “editor” 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.
51 health vs 56 average across 5,902 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.1%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 46.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,193 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35, well behind 6.8.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2019-06-07Reviewers say it does one job and does it well, keeping the visual editor from mangling hand-written HTML, with a couple of small requests like hiding the text tab instead.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3176 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 22 reviews, smoothed to 4.38★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3176 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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| disable your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| editor your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| visual your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wysiwyg your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin”, “disable” and “editor” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 437 · 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
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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 99% 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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 62% of the way through.
Install history since 11 Aug 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ raycopper7.4y ago
Installed and working as expected on WordPress 5.2.1 using Twenty Fourteen Theme 07.06.2019
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ecaron8.5y ago
I’ve added this to my list of “Essential Plugins”. Doesn’t need to be by default, but it makes it wonderful for having multiple admins coordinating pages and making sure people know when they can/shouldn’t rely on the WYSIWYG editor.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mattroslund8.6y ago
It does exactly what it says. I have to add HTML code to certain pages, and this plugin stops the visual editor from royally messing them up. It’s a life saver!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Roman8.7y ago
Все працює без проблем!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Lorenzo8.9y ago
Simple and very usefull. Could be nice to be able to keep only visual and hide text.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kalico9.0y ago
For the second time in 4 months, I had to tell someone not to use the visual editor after it borked custom code. I use another plugin to lock certain posts so that only a superadmin (on a multisite network) can edit them. But for those rare pages where our content managers MUST be able to edit AND must never use the visual editor, this plugin here is the perfect solution. Some users have asked for additional features….I respectfully disagree. The beauty of this plugin is it’s perfect simplicity. There are plenty of plugins out there with multiple features that require extra support and create extra bloat…this one does what it is intended to do, and does it perfectly. This topic was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by kalico.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ SVTX9.2y ago
Great for people who want to build wordpress content pages in html and keep WordPress from effing it up.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ vivah9.4y ago
Helps me out of a tricky situation.
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 3 languages, 0 at 90% or more · development strings
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
1 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 1 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or 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 228 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "admin", "wysiwyg" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-15 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-14 1K+ → 2K+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2026-06-10 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-09 1K+ → 2K+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-06-06 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-05 1K+ → 2K+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-06-02 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-01 1K+ → 2K+ up after 17 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).
-
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
WP Super Edit 2K+ installs · 3.8★ · 3 shared tags D - C Classic Widgets 2M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B
-
Re-add text underline and justify 50K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B - A Advanced TinyMCE Configuration 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
-
WP Editor Widget 9K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Visual Editor WYSIWYG into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/disable-visual-editor-wysiwyg" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Disable Visual Editor WYSIWYG — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Disable Visual Editor WYSIWYG: 1K+ active installs, 5.0★ (22 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-visual-editor-wysiwyg
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.