wao.io is a free plugin to test loading time and security of your wordpress site.
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈17 estimated
Momentum
-23%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “cache”, “caching” and “compression” 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.
45 health vs 69 average across 1,808 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 2.2K lifetime downloads are still running, below 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.
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 5.4.25.
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 5.4.25; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ 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.
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.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| cache your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| caching your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| compression your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| lazyload your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| optimize your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “cache”, “caching” and “compression” 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 6 Oct 2022 · 1,486 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 117 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,100 to #45,000, alongside the other plugins at 10+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare 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.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 5 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ choize6.7y ago
Downloaded the plugin and was surprised to find an analyser. However, it was quite useful to see if I would like to progress further with the plugin. My steps then were: Start analyser with my URL Got a 64% improvement potential Signed up Got a preview site which looked like my site Actually pretty nice to see if the plugin breaks someting. I got so many problems with other plugins that this time I was surprised that I can test before. Definetly a BONUS Preview Site looked good and was functional now it got really interesting Went full mode on – enabled ALL the features Tested the preview site again Ready to go – until here I spent 12 minutes Ended the preview mode – it´s one click Got a lot of errors on the wao.io dashboard CHanged the DNS settings (as it was advised on the dashboard) Saw all the warnings turn green Got an email that my website is going to be optimised now Success Well, I got to say the DNS change was quite a hustle but in the end, I just had to copy&paste two numbers. My website is definitely faster and I tripled my Google PageSpeed score. On webpagetest.org the results are looking even better. However, had to wait 2-3 days to see the web performance results change. The security part was instantly improved!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous6.7y ago
WordPress sites often tend to load slowly, especially after adding more plugins. I use wao.io as cloud-based optimizer to make my blog load more quickly again. The plugin offers all the information and a link to a free test + preview option so you can check out in advance.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.7.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 2 at 90% or more · development strings
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 24 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 Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 11 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,095 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "lazyload" does 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).
-
LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags B -
Cachify 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags C -
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
WP Super Cache 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for wao.io into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wao-io" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="wao.io — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> wao.io: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wao-io
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