PhastPress
by Albert Peschar · Performance
Also makes 1 other plugin · 11K+ installs across the portfolio →
PhastPress automatically optimizes your site for the best possible performance.
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
A 89/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
+7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “optimization”, “page speed” and “speed” for “gtmetrix”, “image optimisation” and “jpeg”. “optimization” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “gtmetrix” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “page speed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “image optimisation” sits at #12 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “speed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “jpeg” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 69 average across 1,808 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.8%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 544.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,103 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 7 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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 8 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 99 reviews, smoothed to 4.63★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
40
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
24%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| optimisation your tag | #8 | #6 | 0 |
| gtmetrix | #8 | #8 | down 1 |
| pagespeed insights your tag | #15 | #14 | down 2 |
| speed optimisation | #6 | #5 | 0 |
| image optimisation | #12 | #6 | 0 |
| jpeg | #13 | #11 | up 1 |
| bandwidth | #17 | #14 | down 1 |
| critical css | #21 | #16 | down 1 |
| site optimisation | #12 | #8 | up 1 |
| loader | #22 | #8 | down 3 |
| speed insights | #23 | #17 | — |
| optimization your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| page speed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| speed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
61 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 11 listed. 50 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 “optimization”, “page speed” and “speed” for “gtmetrix”, “image optimisation” and “jpeg”. “optimization” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “gtmetrix” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “page speed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “image optimisation” sits at #12 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “speed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “jpeg” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “pagespeed insights”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 22.5K · 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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
7
releases in the last 12 months
8d ago
latest release · v3.13 · 24 Oct 2026
119
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3.9 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 10 Feb 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ sgpro2.1y ago
Solid plugin, but if it could allow the exclusion of certain JavaScript assets, then I’d rate this a 5 stars
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ iontulburedev3.3y ago
Best page speed optimization plugin for static assets if you don’t have a LightSpeed Server. If you run on Nginx/Apache then install this plugin and you will have better page speed.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Toine Rademacher3.6y ago
I once saw a video from a YouTuber called Web Squadron. He adviced to use Phastpress and WP Meteor to use to optimize WordPress. I’ve been using WP Rocket for a while now. It did improve the speed of our site but all those options were just too hard to perfectly set up. Phastpress is just a really simple and a great plug-in. It improves the Pagespeed score a good bit and in combination with WP Meteor, it’s even better! I myself use EWWW Image optimizer to optimize and lazyload all my images. I can easily disable the lazy load option in Phastpress and it seems to be perfectly compatible with all sort of plugins. It works great with Elementor (and WooCommerce, ARMember, ACF, etc) and I haven’t seen any quirks yet. Thank you for creating this great FREE plug-in!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ johns19513.7y ago
This plugin is simple to setup but it very effective in optimizing the website. The number of requests for a page when way down. Initially there were some errors caused by CSS Optimizations. Albert quickly responded within a few hours, even over the weekend, and changed a setting to fix the problem. I was made of aware of this plugin by Imran “How to Boost Page Speed Optimization WordPress for FREE in 2023 ”
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jake794.2y ago
Over the years, I think I’ve tried just about every optimization plugin out there, Including WP Rocket, Autoptimize, etc. PhastPress is better than all of them, and it’s free. I’d be happy to pay for this plugin; it’s that good. Big thanks to Albert :))
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ andrebeltrame5.2y ago
Very simple and powerful.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ simon205.4y ago
The plugin works as promised and delivers the results in no time. I am very glad that I found this plugin. In addition, Albert is the person who really cares about regular users like myself. I was contacting him with some questions and received decent response. Keep up a great job! Simon
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Posandu5.4y ago
Pagespeed insights from 18 to 89 !! Thank you !!!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- 2026-10-24 Version 3.13 Fix PHP 8.4 deprecation warning about implicitly nullable parameter in ServiceConfiguration. 3.13
- 2026-08-13 Version 3.12 Bump “Tested up to” to WordPress 7.1. 3.12
- 2026-07-29 Version 3.11 Improve script optimization compatibility with multisite installations, CDNs, and path-rewriting service proxies. 3.11
- 2026-06-19 Version 3.10 WebP image compression support for sites served via Cloudflare. AVIF image compression support. Bump “Tested up to” to WordPress 7.0. 3.10
- 2026-02-11 Version 3.9 Fix deprecation error due to implicitly marking parameters as nullable. (Thanks to Roberto Bösenberg !) 3.9
- 2025-12-11 Version 3.8 Fix CVE-2025-14388. (Thanks to Angus G. !) 3.8
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (3.13). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Critical · 9.8 PhastPress <= 3.7 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read via Null Byte Injection ↗2025-12-22 CVE-2025-14388 Improper Neutralization of Null Byte or NUL Character Affects <= 3.7 Patched in 3.8
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 4 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
5 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "PhastPress automatically optimizes your site for the best possible performance."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 14 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 13 of 14 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 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,443 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "Page Speed" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2022-12-16 9K+ → 10K+ up after 208 days in tier
- 2022-05-22 10K+ → 9K+ down after 63 days in tier
- 2022-03-20 9K+ → 10K+ up after 270 days in tier
- 2021-06-23 8K+ → 9K+ up after 65 days in tier
- 2021-04-19 7K+ → 8K+ up after 68 days in tier
- 2021-02-10 6K+ → 7K+ up after 87 days in tier
- 2020-11-15 5K+ → 6K+ up after 43 days in tier
- 2020-10-03 4K+ → 5K+ up after 78 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).
-
Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically 70+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
ezCache 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite 8K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags B -
GTmetrix for WordPress 7K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for PhastPress into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/phastpress" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="PhastPress — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> PhastPress: 10K+ active installs, 4.9★ (99 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/phastpress
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