WP Head Optimizer
by gr8nilay · Performance
Also makes 9 other plugins · 1.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
This plugin allow you to remove unnecessary tags, links, urls, scrips and many additional things from your WordPress header to speed up site loading t …
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 51/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈270 estimated
Momentum
+32%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “clean head”, “optimization” and “remove” 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.
51 health vs 69 average across 1,806 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.1%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 6.5K 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.
Removal-risk signals
28/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Not actively maintained. No update in about 2 years.
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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 996 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.4.14; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.18★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 996 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| wphead your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| wphead clean your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| clean head your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| optimization your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| remove your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “clean head”, “optimization” and “remove” 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 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 108 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ 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 1 Nov 2026.
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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
9.3y ago
latest release · v1.0.0 · 6 Jul 2017
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; the previous band took 16 months to cross, which places it about 71% of the way through.
Install history since 12 Jan 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ eighteen4.6y ago
5 start
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Gordon7.1y ago
Works great. Speeds up your website by removing unused scripts. Highly recommend!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ visionviper8.5y ago
Other similar plugins like this one were just too bloated. This one has a nice clean settings page and just covers WordPress itself. It doesn’t try to clean up other plugins which I appreciate because it keeps this plugin focused.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gr8nilay9.3y ago
Enjoy Plugin…
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dswt9.3y ago
Awesome! Increase speed of page loading by removing unnecessary HTTP requests and scripts.
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 0 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
2 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This plugin allow you to remove unnecessary tags, links, urls, scrips and many additional things from your..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions REST API.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 901 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("clean head", "optimization", "wphead", "wphead clean" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-12 300+ → 200+ down after 494 days in tier
- 2025-02-03 400+ → 300+ down after 9 days in tier
- 2025-01-25 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-01-24 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-01-23 300+ → 400+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2025-01-19 400+ → 300+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-01-17 300+ → 400+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-01-15 400+ → 300+ down after 4 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).
-
AMP 300K+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag C -
Performance Lab 100K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
Optimization Detective 60K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag B -
Image Prioritizer 40K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag B -
CompressX — AVIF & WebP Converter, Media Replacement 40K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ installs · 3.7★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Head Optimizer into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-head-optimizer" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Head Optimizer — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Head Optimizer: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-head-optimizer
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