wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unused css”

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 “unused css”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 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 #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

1 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #1 2

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #5 ↑6 2 too low 4

Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #2 2 too high 5

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #8 3 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 #10 ↓1 4 too low 7

CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #11 ↓5 2 too low 10

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓5 2 too low 11

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #14 3 too low 12

Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP 1K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #3 9 too high 13

EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #24 ↓5 11 too low 14

Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #15 ↑6 1 too low 15

ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #16 ↓3 17

WindPress – Tailwind CSS integration for WordPress 3K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) host-installed base wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19

LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 20

Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑5 13 too high 21 L Live CSS Preview 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22

Unused Media Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓3 9 too high 23

SEO'n'AI – Image Locator & Find Unused Images 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24

Code Unloader – Unload Unused CSS, JS & Assets Per Page 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑3 3 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.