Prevent Browser Caching
by Kostya Tereshchuk · Performance
Also makes 3 other plugins · 10.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Prevents browser cache problems: visitors always get the current version of your CSS, JS, images and pages, while caching keeps working.
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 90/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈15K estimated
Momentum
+15%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “speed” and “wp cache” for “lighthouse” and “purge”. “speed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “lighthouse” sits at #12 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “wp cache” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “purge” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
90 health vs 69 average across 1,807 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.6%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 152.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,101 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 8 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 17 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 29 reviews, smoothed to 4.39★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
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.
37
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
15%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| prevent | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| browser caching | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| browser | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| caching your tag | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| browser specific css | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| cache busting your tag | #3 | #3 | 0 |
| wordpress caching | #2 | #4 | 0 |
| any caching plugin | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| leverage browser caching | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| browser cache your tag | #6 | #7 | 0 |
| busting | #3 | #4 | down 1 |
| page caching | #4 | #5 | 0 |
| in browser cache | #6 | #8 | 0 |
| lighthouse | #12 | #13 | down 2 |
| problems | #21 | #21 | up 2 |
| purge | #20 | #13 | down 5 |
| litespeed | #21 | #19 | down 1 |
| tuning | #22 | #13 | 0 |
| js version | #21 | #18 | down 2 |
| speed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wp cache your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
75 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 19 listed. 56 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 “speed” and “wp cache” for “lighthouse” and “purge”. “speed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “lighthouse” sits at #12 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “wp cache” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “purge” sits at #20 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 20.4K · 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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
8
releases in the last 12 months
17d ago
latest release · v3.2.2 · 14 Oct 2026
15
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 30% 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 6 May 2021
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.2.1 Fixed: a caching plugin that is installed but has its page caching switched off (for example WP-Optimize used only for database cleanup or image compression) is no longer treated as an active page cache. The “… is active 3.2.1
- — Version 3.2.0 New: “Let browsers keep static files for a year” (opt-in, in the new “Speed up” settings section) — serves CSS, JS, fonts and images with long-lived Cache-Control / Expires headers. Safe by design: versioned URLs change 3.2.0
- — Version 3.1.0 New: “Update versions” can now also clear the page cache when one of the supported caching plugins is active — WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, WP Fastest Cache, WP-Optimize, Breeze, Cache Enab 3.1.0
- — Version 3.0.0 New automatic mode (now the recommended default): the assets version is taken from the file modification time, so browser caching works at full strength and busts exactly when a file changes. External URLs (payment scrip 3.0.0
- — Version 2.3.7 Fixed a bug with URLs that contain repeated query params: only the last one survived after adding the “ver” param. For example, Google Fonts URLs with several “family” params lost all font families except the last one. T 2.3.7
- — Version 2.3.6 Tested the plugin in WordPress 6.9. 2.3.6
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 13 languages, 12 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
8 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 "Prevents browser cache problems: visitors always get the current version of your CSS, JS, images and pages,..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 16 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 16 of 16 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("use it", "for developers").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WP-CLI, WP Rocket, LiteSpeed.
- ✓ Headings and lists 7 headings and 6 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 6,976 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "cache busting", "WP Cache" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
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).
-
WP Super Cache 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Breeze Cache 300K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags B -
Cachify 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags C -
FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A - D DB Cache Reloaded Fix 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Prevent Browser Caching into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/prevent-browser-caching" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Prevent Browser Caching — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Prevent Browser Caching: 10K+ active installs, 4.9★ (29 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/prevent-browser-caching
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