Keep Emoticons as Text

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

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

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. A small install base leaves thin data to model from. The recent download trend is too spiky to read.

1. ★★★★★ Taylor Gorman

   3.8y ago

   The actual functioning PHP code is just one line, which is exactly what it needs to be. I went from “How do I turn this off on my client’s site” to Google to an article to installing this plugin to problem completely solved in literally one minute. Thank you for being awesome.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ davidg939

   6.8y ago

   Great plugin, I need it!

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ FGU Nord / Lars

   7.3y ago

   🙂

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ jave.web

   9.4y ago

   The super “massive” code of this plugin is, literally, : add_filter( 'option_use_smilies', '__return_false' ); altough for newer PHP 5.3+ I would suggest add_filter('option_use_smilies',function(){ return false; }); I fear the times, when you will have to install separate plugin for every WordPress option…

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ antonio7

   9.6y ago

   I’ve been looking for this plugin for so long!

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ Catfish-hh

   9.8y ago

   spares me unwanted visual clutter – easy and efficient. Thanks a lot.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ DragoWeb

   10.1y ago

   Thanks a lot for this. Searched for a solution during hours, tried so many things, but only this solved my problem.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ vetchyKocour

   10.6y ago

   Thanks to this small plugin I does not need to modify the templates to achieve the same effect. Even if it’s just one line of code 🙂 Good job, thank you!

   Read on wp.org ↗

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3

Growth timeline

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

1. 2026-06-26 800+ → 700+ down after 3 days in tier
2. 2026-06-23 700+ → 800+ up after 4 days in tier
3. 2026-06-19 800+ → 700+ down after 323 days in tier
4. 2025-07-31 900+ → 800+ down after 2 days in tier
5. 2025-07-29 800+ → 900+ up after 3 days in tier
6. 2025-07-26 900+ → 800+ down after 238 days in tier
7. 2024-11-30 1K+ → 900+ 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).

• Really Disable Emojis 700+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
• TinyMCE Smiley Button 600+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
• T Tango/GNOME Smilies 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
• C Custom Smilies Directory 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
• A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A
• R Raw HTML 10K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag C

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Keep Emoticons as Text into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Keep Emoticons as Text: 700+ active installs, 5.0★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/keep-emoticons-as-text