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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pagespeed module”

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 “pagespeed module”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

PageSpeed Module shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #8 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ · 4.6★ (339) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Machete 6K+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #17 18 PageSpeed Ninja – Cache, Minify, Defer CSS JavaScript, Critical CSS, Optimize Images, Convert WebP 5K+ · 4.5★ (114) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 PageSpeed Module 200+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 JCH Optimize 4K+ · 4.4★ (69) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 WP Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache, Minify & Core Web Vitals 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 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.