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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disable block”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “disable block”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Disable Block Editor FullScreen mode shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #1 2 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #2 3 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Disable Emails 30K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #10 11 Disable Media Sizes 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #11 ↓3 12 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #14 ↓2 15 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Widget Disable 10K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18 Disable Block Editor FullScreen mode 1K+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too high 21 Disable Embeds 10K+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Disable WP Sitemaps 10K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Simply Disable Comments 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 9 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.