WP Smart Preloader
by catchsquare · Uncategorized
Also makes 4 other plugins · 9K+ installs across the portfolio →
A Plugin to add awesome collection of Loaders and Spinners. Delightful and performance-focused Pure CSS animations.
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
C 62/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
5K+
≈5.6K estimated
Momentum
+15%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “posts” for “page preloader”. “posts” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “page preloader” sits at #21 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
62 health vs 58 average across 25,753 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.4%
of downloads still active
At least 5K of 209.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 735 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.6.11; the current branch is 6.8
4.4★ over 25 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 735 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.
41
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
24%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+0.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| awesome preloader | #3 | #9 | 0 |
| wp smart preloader your tag | #6 | #12 | down 1 |
| site preloader your tag | #11 | #17 | 0 |
| wordpress preloader your tag | #13 | #18 | down 2 |
| preloader | #15 | #17 | up 2 |
| wp preloader | #16 | #20 | up 1 |
| preloader plugin | #16 | #15 | 0 |
| page preloader | #21 | #20 | down 2 |
| website preloader | #13 | #17 | 0 |
| custom preloader | #17 | #18 | up 1 |
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| preload your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
17 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 10 listed. 7 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 “posts” for “page preloader”. “posts” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “page preloader” sits at #21 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 “site preloader”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- One page off on “wordpress preloader”. #13 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 6.9K · 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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
2.0y ago
latest release · v1.15.3 · 27 Oct 2024
25
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 84% 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 “5K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 62% of the way through.
Install history since 7 Apr 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ multmediadesigns2.1y ago
Did work out of the install…but, it is on a timer, vs watching for when the actual heavy loading page completes. I also needed it to run on a particular page and not the whole site.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ silvershine2.7y ago
Once I added the code below to my functions.php file and adjusted the timing it works great. I also like the included loading image #1 better than other preloaders. add_action('wp_footer', function(){ ?> <script> (function($){ $(function () { setTimeout(function() { jQuery('body .smart-page-loader').fadeOut(500, function() { jQuery('body .smart-page-loader').css('opacity', 0); }); }, 1500); }); })(jQuery); </script> <?php }); This topic was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by silvershine. Reason: code didn't appear correctly
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dennis Bareis3.7y ago
It will cause a blank page to be displayed if Javascript is turned off.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hoceinabbasi5.3y ago
best preload plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ philsimon5.9y ago
This plug-in does exactly what you’d expect. Love it. I installed it on my site. This topic was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by philsimon.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ve Mer7.3y ago
Used to work great, now it’s creating an weird loop while on WP-admin. Wonder why? This topic was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by Ve Mer.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ alaswer7.5y ago
It offers 6 predefined preloaders that you can choose from. You can also add your custom preloader code, HTML & CSS. Good job developr, Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ born2webdesign7.9y ago
Works fine with JS, but is not ‘CSS-only’—without JS, your page stays blank (like with most loader animations). IMO ‘CSS-only’ does not only refer to absence of images, so should work with only CSS. If you want to use JS events, you could use a CSS-only fallback and only inject the JS-dependent loader using JS itself—usable page for everyone and would truly work with ‘only CSS’ (though still not truly ‘CSS-only’).
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.15.2 just changed version 😉 1.15.2
- — Version 1.15.1 escaping values 1.15.1
- — Version 1.15 tested upto wordPress 6.0 1.15
- — Version 1.14 resolved deprecated load function 1.14
- — Version 1.13 tested upto WordPress ver 5.6 1.13
- — Version 1.12 Fixed showing loader in elementor active edit state 1.12
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.15.3). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 4.4 WP Smart Preloader <= 1.15 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2023-01-20 CVE-2023-23675 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.15 Patched in 1.15.1
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A Plugin to add awesome collection of Loaders and Spinners. Delightful and performance-focused Pure CSS ani..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 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 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 524 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("posts", "site preloader", "wordpress preloader" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-16 6K+ → 5K+ down after 242 days in tier
- 2025-10-17 7K+ → 6K+ down after 341 days in tier
- 2024-11-10 8K+ → 7K+ down after 531 days in tier
- 2023-05-29 9K+ → 8K+ down after 239 days in tier
- 2022-10-02 10K+ → 9K+ down after 306 days in tier
- 2021-11-30 8K+ → 10K+ up after 723 days in tier
- 2019-12-08 7K+ → 8K+ up after 341 days in tier
- 2019-01-01 6K+ → 7K+ up after 155 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).
-
Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
GenerateBlocks 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Post Duplicator 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
WP Popular Posts 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag C -
Public Post Preview 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Smart Preloader into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-smart-preloader" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Smart Preloader — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Smart Preloader: 5K+ active installs, 4.4★ (25 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-smart-preloader
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