wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “optimize css delivery”
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 “optimize css delivery”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Local Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 
Speed Up – Optimize CSS Delivery 500+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
JCH Optimize 4K+ · 4.4★ (69)
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 
ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #10 ↓3 11 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too high 17 
NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 80K+ · 4.3★ (311)
wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 
WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41)
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 
FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 
reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin 100K+ · 4.3★ (166)
wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 
BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54)
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Local Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 
Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 
Infinite Uploads – Offload, Optimize & Organize Your Media Library 800+ · 4.4★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.