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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “lazy loader”

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 “lazy loader”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 6 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

Ajax loader + Cache shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #1 2 Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #2 3 Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 80K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 PhastPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↑2 8 too high 12 ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Lazy Loader 9K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #24 ↓3 7 too low 18 Load More Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (275) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Disqus Conditional Load 3K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Ajax loader + Cache 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 18 too high 23 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 All In One Lightbox – show any media in beautiful popups 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.