Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “lazyload”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

Lazy load videos and sticky control shows at wp.org #13 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Accordions 20K+ · 4.5★ (90) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Powerkit – Supercharge your WordPress Site 10K+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Splide Carousel Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 ↓4 2 too high 10 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 Disable Lazy Load 9K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 A faster website! (aka defer.js) 200+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Helper Lite for PageSpeed 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Swift Performance Lite 6K+ · 3.6★ (125) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Post Timeline 700+ · 4.2★ (21) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 bSlider – Build Sliders That Bring Your Content to Life 5K+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Lazy load videos and sticky control 80+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 Lazy Load for YouTube – GDPR Friendly YouTube Embed Block by DBlocks 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 RSOrangetech Gallery — Masonry & Grid 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 21 Lazyload for Contact Form 7 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Lazyload, Preload, and More! 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 CT Optimization 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 AIO Performance Profiler, Monitor, Optimize, Compress & Debug 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.