Better Resource Hints
by Alex MacArthur · Performance
Also makes 1 other plugin · 200+ installs across the portfolio →
Better Resource Hints will make your WordPress site or application faster and generally more performant by intelligently leveraging resource hints lik …
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈200 estimated
Momentum
+84%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “performance” for “http2”. “performance” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “http2” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
46 health vs 69 average across 1,807 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 11.4K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,101 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Performance plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.0.31, well behind 6.8.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 2818 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.0.31; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2818 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| http2 | #17 | #12 | 0 |
| performance your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| prefetch your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| preload your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| resource hints your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| server push your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “performance” for “http2”. “performance” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “http2” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 102 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
7.7y ago
latest release · v1.1.3 · 12 Feb 2019
5
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 200.
Install history since 1 Dec 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ johnnyfyffe7.1y ago
Cheers Alex, I found this plugin through your blog. I’m going to promote it in my tutorials. It’s about time WordPress got this extra functionality. Are you planning to update the plugin any time soon? It’d be great if the last update was a bit more recent. It would show that you’re still actively managing it. Thanks again for an amazing plugin. Warm regards, Johnny.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ vinaythoke7.3y ago
This is fairly new plugin. I came here to try this from Author’s blog post about it. Very simple solution to such big problem. Definitely helped me get that extra second off my server load times.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Lovro Hrust7.6y ago
I found just what I needed. It is aimed at developers, so probably this is the reason for low number of installs. You might consider updating it to be compatible to latest wordpress version (it works in my case)
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Better Resource Hints will make your WordPress site or application faster and generally more performant by..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 5 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you want"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 6 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 7,203 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-28 200+ → 100+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-10-26 100+ → 200+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2026-10-21 200+ → 100+ down after 566 days in tier
- 2025-04-03 300+ → 200+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-04-01 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-31 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-30 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-29 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Speculative Loading 70K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Preload Featured Images 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Quicklink for WordPress 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C -
Preload Images 900+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Better Resource Hints into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/better-resource-hints" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Better Resource Hints — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Better Resource Hints: 100+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/better-resource-hints
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