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

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 updates”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 Auto Update Emails and Block Updates for Plugins, WP Core, and Themes shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 4K+ 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 #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #1 2 Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #2 3 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Disable Updates – Updates Manager, Disable Automatic Updates, Disable All Updates 9K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #21 ↑1 15 too low 7 Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes 9K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Disable Media Sizes 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Widget Disable 10K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Disable WordPress Update Notifications and auto-update Email Notifications 10K+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Disable Media Pages 10K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 WP Disables Updates 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Disable Blog 20K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18 Disable Feeds WP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Block Plugin Update 5K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 D Disable Plugin Autoupdate Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Disable Application Passwords 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Disable Auto Update Emails and Block Updates for Plugins, WP Core, and Themes 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23 Simply Disable Comments 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 Disable Updates – Selective Update Control 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.