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

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 “preload”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Preload Featured Images shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 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 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Preload LCP Image 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #9 ↑3 5 too low 5 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ · 4.6★ (339) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #14 ↑4 6 too low 9 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Oxyplug Preload 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Preload Featured Images 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 Preloader 10K+ · 4.1★ (41) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #13 ↓3 7 too high 21 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 P Preload Fullpage Cache 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Image Prioritizer 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.