Widget Disable
by required · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 3 other plugins · 12.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Disable sidebar and dashboard widgets with an easy to use interface.
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 89/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈18K estimated
Momentum
+14%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “admin”, “dashboard” and “widgets” for “sidebar widget”, “fixed widget” and “widget”. “admin” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidebar widget” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “dashboard” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “fixed widget” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “widgets” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “widget” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →5.2%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 190.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,188 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release 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
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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 38 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 24 reviews, smoothed to 4.33★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
36
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.4
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
14%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| sidebar widgets your tag | #10 | #11 | up 1 |
| dashboard widgets your tag | #13 | #12 | up 1 |
| disable | #14 | #12 | 0 |
| disable widgets | #6 | #9 | down 2 |
| dashboard widget | #12 | #12 | 0 |
| widget | #20 | #22 | up 2 |
| sidebar widget | #13 | #17 | down 1 |
| wp dashboard widgets disable | #8 | #15 | — |
| interface | #24 | #21 | — |
| fixed widget | #17 | #20 | down 1 |
| admin widget | #23 | #21 | up 1 |
| disable site | #17 | #15 | 0 |
| sidebar menu widget | #19 | #19 | down 2 |
| disable plugins | #23 | #20 | 0 |
| wp admin disable | #24 | #23 | — |
| simple widget | #24 | #21 | 0 |
| admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| dashboard your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
43 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 16 listed. 27 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “admin”, “dashboard” and “widgets” for “sidebar widget”, “fixed widget” and “widget”. “admin” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidebar widget” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “dashboard” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “fixed widget” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “widgets” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “widget” sits at #20 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 “dashboard widgets”. #13 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 12.6K · 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.
1
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v3.0.1 · 17 Jul 2026
13
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 88% 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 10 months ago and the previous band took 3.3 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 20K.
Install history since 17 May 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ danielepais8mo ago
Does the job right and removes the pesky and somewhat useless widgets from the admin dashboard for all users.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ webfluid1.4y ago
I tried this plugin to disable the widget section on the storefront theme. But unfortunately it doesnt work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ twohills1.8y ago
Admin dashboard was way too slow recently. Installed this and disabled widgets, found the culprit(s) quickly. Nice.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ fightingships3.5y ago
Thank you, a wonderful plugin, you can’t even imagine how happy I am that I found it
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Daniel3.6y ago
thank a lot.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mikhak3.7y ago
thank you for this useful and nice plugin. H hope you continue and update that.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ clariable4.1y ago
I use this pretty much on all my sites, very easy way to get a small speed boost to the backend of the website. Thank you so much for the developer!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hlw7774.3y ago
Thanks for an awesome free plugin which speeds up my WP Admin a lot!!!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- 2024-09-19 Version 3.0.1 Enhancement: Code cleanup, ensuring WordPress 6.6 compatibility. 3.0.1
- 2023-03-26 Version 3.0.0 Fixed: Replace use of jQuery to avoid deprecation warnings. Changed: Requires at least PHP 7.4 and WordPress 6.0. 3.0.0
- 2022-03-17 Version 2.1.0 Enhancement: Hide disabled sidebar widgets when widget block editor is enabled. Changed: Requires at least PHP 5.6 and WordPress 4.7. 2.1.0
- 2020-02-02 Version 2.0.0 New: Allows removal of the “Browse Happy” and “PHP Update Required” widgets in the dashboard to suppress remote API requests. 2.0.0
- 2019-03-11 Version 1.9.1 Enhancement: Cleanup and compatibility with WordPress 5.1. 1.9.1
- 2018-07-26 Version 1.9.0 Enhancement: Added Multisite support. Enhancement: Allows hiding the Try Gutenberg callout in WordPress 4.9.8. For older versions see CHANGELOG.md. 1.9.0
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.6.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 14 languages, 13 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
1 of 8 pass · checked 30 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 No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 893 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-01-07 20K+ → 10K+ down after 1200 days in tier
- 2022-09-25 10K+ → 20K+ up after 724 days in tier
- 2020-10-01 9K+ → 10K+ up after 49 days in tier
- 2020-08-13 6K+ → 9K+ up after 360 days in tier
- 2019-08-19 5K+ → 6K+ up after 179 days in tier
- 2019-02-21 4K+ → 5K+ up after 173 days in tier
- 2018-09-01 3K+ → 4K+ up after 153 days in tier
- 2018-04-01 2K+ → 3K+ up after 182 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).
-
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
White Label CMS 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Display PHP Version 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D - S SpiceBox 20K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
-
Desert Companion 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B - A Arile Extra 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Widget Disable into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-widget-disable" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Widget Disable — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Widget Disable: 10K+ active installs, 4.8★ (24 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-widget-disable
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