wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disable feeds”
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 feeds”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 Everything shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1511 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071)
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Disable Feeds WP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #5 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #4 ↑2 6 too high 11 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511)
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #12 ↑4 13 
Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100)
wp.org #14 ↓1 15 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 
WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) 70K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 12 too high 22 
Disable Blog 20K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 
Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 
My Social Feeds – bring your social content into WordPress 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.