wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “delay”

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

Login Delay Shield shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #1 2

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8

Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9

Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11

Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #9 3 too high 13

FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 3 too high 16

WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #16 ↑1 17

Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18

Shortcode Redirect 10K+ · 4.3★ (31) wp.org #13 5 too high 19

LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20

Animations for Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21

AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓7 1 too high 23

SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) host-installed base wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 O One Time Login 40K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 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.