wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “defer 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 “defer css”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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
Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
EWWW Image Optimizer places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1842 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488)
wp.org #1 2 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #8 ↑6 2 too low 7 
CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too high 11 
Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339)
wp.org #12 ↓4 1 too low 12 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572)
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 
Speed Up – Optimize CSS Delivery 500+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 
LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139)
wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 
BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54)
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 
Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 
DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21 
PageSpeed Ninja – Cache, Minify, Defer CSS JavaScript, Critical CSS, Optimize Images, Convert WebP 5K+ · 4.5★ (114) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 
LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑8 8 too high 24 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.