Preload Featured Images
by WPZOOM · Performance
Also makes 17 other plugins · 246.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Preload Featured Images automatically in posts to increase the PageSpeed Score.
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 85/100
Few reviews
Active installs
1K+
≈1.8K estimated
Momentum
+7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “pagespeed” for “largest contentful paint”. “pagespeed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “largest contentful paint” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
85 health vs 69 average across 1,806 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.6%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 21.6K 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.
This plugin shipped 2 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 73 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
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: 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.
31
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
4%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| preload your tag | #4 | #17 | 0 |
| featured images your tag | #6 | #16 | 0 |
| lcp your tag | #12 | #20 | 0 |
| featured | #14 | #23 | up 1 |
| largest contentful paint | #9 | #20 | 0 |
| featured page | #20 | #24 | down 1 |
| pagespeed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| performance your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
23 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 6 listed. 17 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “pagespeed” for “largest contentful paint”. “pagespeed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “largest contentful paint” sits at #9 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 “lcp”. #12 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.3K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v1.1.0 · 5 Jun 2026
2
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 47% 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 6 months ago and the previous band took 2 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 2K.
Install history since 1 Jan 2022
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 0 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
6 of 8 pass · checked 28 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 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 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 Mentions Divi.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,391 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "performance" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-09 2K+ → 1K+ down after 744 days in tier
- 2024-04-25 1K+ → 2K+ up after 420 days in tier
- 2023-03-02 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2023-03-01 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-02-28 900+ → 1K+ up after 26 days in tier
- 2023-02-02 800+ → 900+ up after 38 days in tier
- 2022-12-26 700+ → 800+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2022-12-25 800+ → 700+ 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).
-
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
W3 Total Cache 900K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Autoptimize 800K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ installs · 3.5★ · 2 shared tags B -
10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Preload Featured Images into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/preload-featured-images" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Preload Featured Images — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Preload Featured Images: 1K+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/preload-featured-images
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