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← Rankings

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

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 inspect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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 Inspect Tools shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #5 6 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too low 8 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #21 ↓3 11 too low 11 Disable Topics API 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too low 14 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Bulk Auto Image Alt Text (Alt tag, Alt attribute) optimizer (image SEO) 10K+ · 4.2★ (111) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Disable Global Style 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 13 too high 18 WP Protect Content 1K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Disable Inspect Tools 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Perform – Optimize Performance 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.