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

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 tag”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP Global Site Tag shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 2

Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #2 3

Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #3 4

Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Disable Media Sizes 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 6

PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #9 ↑7 3 too low 7

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #16 ↓4 8 too low 9

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce – Speed Up & Clean Up Admin 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too low 10

Disable WP Sitemaps 10K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11

Disable Lazy Load 9K+ · 4.5★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #18 6 too low 13

Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15

Disable Blog 20K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16

PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17

Disable Application Passwords 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #11 6 too high 18

Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #19 1 too low 19

Disable User Login 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20

Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #20 21

Disable Responsive Images Complete 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 22

WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #7 15 too high 23 D Disable WP Registration Page 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

Disable Global Style 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.