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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “async js”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “async js”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

P

Ranked above its merit

Page Optimize shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #4 5 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #5 6 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #15 ↑5 7 too low 9 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #20 ↑1 11 too low 10 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑5 4 too high 14 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 EasyFonts – Host Google Fonts Locally, Fast & Auto-Optimize, GDPR Compliant 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #21 ↓6 5 too low 17 Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Swift Performance Lite 6K+ · 3.6★ (125) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Smooth Scrolling 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓1 10 too high 22 AEH Speed Optimization: Browser Cache, Optimized Minify, Lazy Loading & Image Optimization 2K+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #22 23 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Web Worker Offloading 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.