Why So Slow?
by bettersecurity · Performance
Improve the loading speed of your website by removing bloat and unused features (formerly named Better Speed)
58 health vs 74 average across 332 Performance plugins
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.
Room to improve
Biggest win: Update recency
To rank higher: Last updated 657 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Daily downloads
Since 2022-10-05 · 1,381 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges
34
now · peak 251
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Downloads per 1k installs · 30d
Engagement proxy · release spikes are signal, a long slide is an aging base
Estimated active installs
wp.org reports only “80+”. The real number sits in this band.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history · since 2022-10-04 · 1,379 observations
Details
Growth timeline
Install-band crossings we have observed, and how long each band took to outgrow
- 2026-07-14 90+ → 80+ down after 1 days in band
- 2026-07-13 80+ → 90+ up after 1 days in band
- 2026-07-12 90+ → 80+ down after 16 days in band
- 2026-06-26 80+ → 90+ up after 1 days in band
- 2026-06-25 90+ → 80+ down after 4 days in band
- 2026-06-21 80+ → 90+ up after 1 days in band
- 2026-06-20 90+ → 80+ down after 2 days in band
- 2026-06-18 80+ → 90+ up after 1 days in band
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach — closest match first
-
Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
ManageWP Worker 1M+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 80K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B - D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
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<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/better-speed" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Why So Slow? — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Why So Slow?: 80+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-07-17. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/better-speed