wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “compress css”

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 “compress css”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More shows at wp.org #11 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 117 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF places #9 on merit, 4.5★ from 830 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #1 2

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #2 3

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

TinyPNG Image Optimization – Image Compression JPEG & PNG | Convert to WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.5★ (181) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1843) wp.org #8 9

ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #13 4 too low 10

Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

WP Super Minify • Minify, Compress and Cache HTML, CSS & JavaScript 8K+ · 4.1★ (73) wp.org #7 4 too high 12

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ · 4.6★ (339) wp.org #16 2 too low 15

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #12 4 too high 17

ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #11 6 too high 18

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #19 1 too low 19

Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #17 2 too high 20

WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #23 3 too low 21

Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Nexter Extension – Security, Performance, Code Snippets & Site Toolkit 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23

Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

WP Add Custom CSS and JS 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.