wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unload javascript”

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 “unload javascript”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

FV Player 8 shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FV Flowplayer Video Player places #5 on merit, 4.4★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #1 2

Fattura24 400+ · 4.9★ (96) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Assets manager, dequeue scripts, dequeue styles for WordPress 2K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #3 4

a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

System Dashboard 900+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #6 7

Essential Form – The lightest plugin for contact forms, ultra lightweight and no spam 600+ · 4.9★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8

Code Unloader – Unload Unused CSS, JS & Assets Per Page 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #2 6 too high 9

GDPR-DSGVO compliant Embeds for Google Maps 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 5 too high 11

Conditionally Load CF7 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 1 too high 12

PowerUp – Admin Tools (Login/Logout Redirects, Scripts & Comments Control) 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 1 too high 13 T Tracking for Divi 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 3 too low 14

EPIC Conditional Assets Loader — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 1 too high 15

Massoftind Asset Manager — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too low 16

WebLift Booster by Jayanta — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Booster Sweeper: WordPress Asset Cleanup 10+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #12 5 too high 18

GDPR-DSGVO compliant Embeds for YouTube Videos 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Dr. Speed: AI Assets Scanner – Debloat & Dequeue Unused CSS/JS — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Speedora Total Website Speed Optimization — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21

SOptimizer – Critical CSS, WebP, Asset Manager & Bloat Remover — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

Pagelean – Conditional Script and Style Loading — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too high 23

PagePulse 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

FV Player 8 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews 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.