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

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 “lcp”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Image Prioritizer shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

List category posts places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 254 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Preload LCP Image 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #18 ↑2 10 too low 9 Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite 8K+ · 4.3★ (186) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 JCH Optimize 4K+ · 4.4★ (69) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Lazy Load Control For Elementor – Remove the Lazy Load attribute from specific images in Elementor 3K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 EasyFonts – Host Google Fonts Locally, Fast & Auto-Optimize, GDPR Compliant 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Oxyplug Preload 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Speed Up – Lazy Load 400+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Preload Featured Images 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Image Prioritizer 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 16 too high 20 Super Preloader for Cloudflare 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 LCP Accelerator 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 FetchPriority Featured Image 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Vibes 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑2 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.