Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP
by Magazine3 · Performance
Also makes 13 other plugins · 728.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Critical CSS For WP removes the unused CSS which helps to paint fast and render the above fold content, before downloading the complete css files.
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
B 82/100
no flags
Active installs
1K+
≈1.9K estimated
Momentum
-4%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “cache”, “core web vital” and “seo” for “reduce”, “unused” and “paint”. “cache” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “reduce” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “core web vital” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “unused” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “seo” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “paint” sits at #19 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
82 health vs 69 average across 1,809 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.8%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 55.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,105 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.
This plugin shipped 3 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 75 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
3.8★ over 13 reviews, smoothed to 4.04★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
19%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.3
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| unused css | #3 | #12 | 0 |
| critical css your tag | #4 | #13 | 0 |
| critical your tag | #6 | #19 | 0 |
| above the fold css | #2 | #6 | 0 |
| reduce | #8 | #21 | 0 |
| unused | #16 | #19 | down 5 |
| css | #21 | #24 | down 1 |
| paint | #19 | #18 | 0 |
| autoptimize | #15 | #20 | 0 |
| above the fold | #15 | #18 | 0 |
| unused files | #20 | #18 | up 1 |
| unused content | #22 | #20 | 0 |
| cache your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| core web vital your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
32 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 12 listed. 20 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “cache”, “core web vital” and “seo” for “reduce”, “unused” and “paint”. “cache” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “reduce” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “core web vital” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “unused” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “seo” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “paint” sits at #19 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 3.6K · peaks are release surges
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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v1.0.24 · 18 Aug 2026
25
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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3.5 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ johnfkirk7mo ago
Hola: con telefono celular funciona muy bien, no así con la pc que queda peor que antes, quizas debería producir dos archivos, uno para el celular y otro para PC.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bigroadtrip1.6y ago
I start using it and the results are very good! It does exactly what i need it to do so thanks for this plugin developers!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ alt77x2.2y ago
Plug-In stopped working after a few hours. No support either This topic was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by alt77x.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dizitele2.4y ago
The interface is not user friendly. If you do not have good knowledge about the subject, it can cause you big troubles. It can also be a headache for mobile themes. This is how the adventure ended for me, I hope it will be good for someone else.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ yantisa2.4y ago
This works much better compared to other plugins that I tried, and I can see the load speed significantly faster This topic was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by yantisa.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wegerl2.9y ago
The plug-in has helped to improve site performance and is overall highly recommended! The clear and effective settings ensure that every website should work optimally.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ed Shway3.1y ago
UPDATE: I apologize for leaving a review instead of a support thread. I’ve added one now – https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-activation/ I’ll change the rating to 5 because I don’t want to unfairly drag the rating down. Original post: It caused a critical error on my entire site as soon as I visited the plugin’s settings page. This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Ed Shway. This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Ed Shway.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sbiar3.5y ago
This just didnt work.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Critical CSS For WP removes the unused CSS which helps to paint fast and render the above fold content, bef..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WP Rocket, LiteSpeed.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 4 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,496 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "Core Web Vital", "seo" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2023-05-16 900+ → 1K+ up after 13 days in tier
- 2023-05-03 800+ → 900+ up after 12 days in tier
- 2023-04-21 700+ → 800+ up after 19 days in tier
- 2023-04-02 600+ → 700+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2023-03-24 500+ → 600+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2023-03-15 400+ → 500+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2023-03-11 300+ → 400+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2023-03-06 200+ → 300+ up after 8 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).
-
SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags B -
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
JCH Optimize 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/critical-css-for-wp" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP: 1K+ active installs, 3.8★ (13 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/critical-css-for-wp
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