lazysizes
by Patrick Sletvold · Performance
Also makes 2 other plugins · 2.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
High performance and SEO friendly lazy loader for images, iframes and more. Many features, like low-res Blurhash placeholders and image fade-in
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
600+
≈660 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “lazysizes”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
47 health vs 69 average across 1,806 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.2%
of downloads still active
At least 600 of 18.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,104 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.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.5.24.
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 2272 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.5.24; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2272 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.
29
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 22d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 22d
0.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| blurhash your tag | #4 | #3 | 0 |
| lazy load xt | #3 | #4 | 0 |
| lazysizes your tag | #15 | #11 | down 4 |
| image your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| lazy load your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| performance your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- One page off on “lazysizes”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “image”, “lazy load” and “performance” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 178 · 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
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
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
6.2y ago
latest release · v1.3.3 · 13 Aug 2020
11
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 91% 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 “600+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 62% of the way through.
Install history since 17 May 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ snippet246.4y ago
If you are looking for a Lazysizes wordpress plugin can’t recommend it enough. Also it has great support from the plugin author. This topic was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by snippet24. This topic was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by snippet24. This topic was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by snippet24.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dutze7.7y ago
Works great, even with picture tags! The fade-in effect of the lazyloaded images is really nice! And the developer is really active and helped me a lot! Thanks again, Patrick 🙂 This topic was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by dutze.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ stephanetessieralu7.9y ago
As a developer I knew the lib js that does a very good job. So I’m not surprised to have a plugin that does a good job too. (Except, video loading does not work) This topic was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by stephanetessieralu.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ moji_vb8.0y ago
I already tested some other plugins against this plugin for my site load speed and request counts. This plugin is greatly reducing my page load speed I really don’t know why they couldn’t beat this plugins performance on gtmetrix. Performance is really high as author mentioned!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Arno Kools8.2y ago
LazySizes is lazyloading done right. I’ve used it before and was pleased to see that it’s now available as a WordPress plugin. For me, this is the best lazy-load script on the planet. I’ve tried many WordPress plugins and all failed except LazySlides. Excellent!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Laura5308.7y ago
Thank you. It is perfect.
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 1 at 90% or more
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,054 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
- 2026-06-18 700+ → 600+ down after 111 days in tier
- 2026-02-27 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-26 700+ → 800+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-25 800+ → 700+ down after 178 days in tier
- 2025-08-31 900+ → 800+ down after 372 days in tier
- 2024-08-24 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-23 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-22 1K+ → 900+ down
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).
-
Image Prioritizer 40K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
WP YouTube Lyte 20K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Lazy Loader 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags C -
Image Optimizer by 10web – Image Optimizer and Compression plugin 3K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C -
Disqus Conditional Load 3K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for lazysizes into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/lazysizes" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="lazysizes — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> lazysizes: 600+ active installs, 5.0★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/lazysizes
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