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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cache preload”

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 “cache preload”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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.

Ranked above its merit

Aruba HiSpeed Cache shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 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 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #2 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ · 4.6★ (339) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 Preload Featured Images 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Warmer – Cache Warmer and Cache Preload Crawler 70+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 P Preload Fullpage Cache 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Cache Using Gzip 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 1 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.