Preload Images

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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.

Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.

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.

0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share 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.

Crossed into this band 25 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 1K.

1. ★★★★★ photoMaldives

   4.1y ago

   I wanted to trigger an animated GIF on hover. To implement this, I followed a simple online guide to *swap* an image on hover – set initial image as the first frame of your GIF, and the second image as the animated GIF itself. This worked perfectly on desktop, but there was a small but very annoying flash on mobile (on touch). Enter this plugin! I enabled the plugin for pages (setting), then copy/pasted the URL of my GIFs in the ‘Image URLs’ field on my specific page … and voila! The flash is history! Thanks to the plugin author – Ravikumar Patel (@ravipatel) – for such a simple and neat solution for my unique case. 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ PS: it took me longer to write a Support question followed by this review, than it did to actually apply the fix! 🙂

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Joey

   4.2y ago

   I run a photo gallery website for hobby using fancybox, and I’m happy to find this plugin! Initially I was searching for a solution with JavaScript, etc., but this is much easier way to preload images with relatively large file sizes. Thank you for the developers behind this!

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ wardencenter

   4.8y ago

   Sadly, the plugin does not work to preload a site’s background image when that image is specified in common image urls. Plus, when there is no image specified in the common image urls, the site loads as a blank page with what I can only describe as a spinning waiting icon. Once the spin is done the site does load smoothly with the background image. But, who wants clients seeing a site that loads with a spinning icon for 3 seconds? Hopefully they’ll update so that the background image can be specified in the common image urls, because it does seem an easy to use plugin.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ Topher

   4.9y ago

   I found myself needing to pre-load some images and started to figure out how to do it by hand when I thought “If you have a need in WordPress, there’s probably a plugin for it.” So I went hunting and found this plugin. Gutenberg made it a little hard to see the meta box on Pages at first, but I found it. I REALLY like that you can preload per page/post, or have them global. Nicely done.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ rafaelbrasileirinho

   5.1y ago

   The plugin fix divi image loading error and glitches, and give for your website a speed boost helping in Google SEO.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ webdesignerz

   5.3y ago

   I am very thankful for this plugin, and of course the person/s who created it. My client wanted an image carousel as the homepage header, which resulted in short loading delays the first run through. Since using this plugin — no delays! Pretty cool stuff.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ cgrant13

   5.4y ago

   I use the Divi theme and I’ve had the plagued of not being able to preload images on a single page. You can always preload in functions but that’s for the whole site and this plugin gives you the ability to do it for single pages and not others. so You can preload multiple images without loading on other pages. Love this! Great work!

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ Jimmy Lee

   6.0y ago

   Using the plugin to preload images above the fold that I have lazyload excluded. Brilliant plugin! Thanks you!

   Read on wp.org ↗

Translated into 2 languages, 1 at 90% or more · development strings

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.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-10-08 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
2. 2026-10-07 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
3. 2026-10-06 1K+ → 900+ down after 2 days in tier
4. 2026-10-04 900+ → 1K+ up after 7 days in tier
5. 2026-09-27 1K+ → 900+ down after 3 days in tier
6. 2026-09-24 900+ → 1K+ up after 2 days in tier
7. 2026-09-22 1K+ → 900+ down after 1672 days in tier
8. 2022-02-23 900+ → 1K+ up

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).

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Drop a live Pulse card for Preload Images into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Preload Images: 900+ active installs, 4.6★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/preload-images