The State of Web Vitals

Optimization plugins

Performance and optimization plugins detected on the page.

Field data PhoneDesktopAll Scope All sites Q1 2026 edition · All devices field outcomes
Metric LCP INP CLS
1

At a glance the headline numbers for Optimization plugins

Performance and optimization plugins detected on the page.

8
Categories
In the distribution
28.7%
Fleet share
Top: wp_rocket
2.8%
Sites with any
Of wp_rocket

Wp rocket leads the optimization plugins, on 28.7% of sites.

The State of Web Vitals · Q1 2026 · 94,910 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
2

The optimization plugins mix who uses what, and how fast each group loads

Median LCP (sites using feature)
0
0.5s
1s
1.5s
2s
2.5s
3s
3.5s
4s
Wp rocket1.6s29% of sites
Litespeed cache1.5s26% of sites
Autoptimize2s21% of sites
Wp fastest cache1.9s12% of sites
Cloudflare apo1.8s9% of sites
W3 total cache1.8s2% of sites
Flyingpress1.4s1% of sites
Nitropack1.7s1% of sites
VariantShare of sitesMedian
Wp rocket
29%
1.6s
Litespeed cache
26%
1.5s
Autoptimize
21%
2s
Wp fastest cache
12%
1.9s
Cloudflare apo
9%
1.8s
W3 total cache
2%
1.8s
Flyingpress
1%
1.4s
Nitropack
1%
1.7s

Optimization plugins. On the fleet: 28.7% wp rocket, 25.5% litespeed cache, 20.6% autoptimize. 2.8% of sites use at least one wp_rocket.

The State of Web Vitals · Q1 2026 · 94,910 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
3

Why this matters for the Core Web Vitals, and where to start fixing it

Optimization plugins exist because platform defaults are slow. They minify, defer, lazy-load, compress and cache what the theme ships, without anyone touching the theme. Their presence says something honest about a site: someone cared enough to install one.

They fix symptoms, and that is fine. A deferred script you could have removed is still a win, just a smaller one. The real risk is blind configuration: the same plugin helps one site and breaks another, usually when something inline depended on a script that is now deferred. Measure before and after, always.

How does this affect the Core Web Vitals?

Optimization plugins correlate with the LCP. With Litespeed cache, 84% of sites pass the LCP. With Autoptimize, 68% do. The causal link is weak: the choice mostly marks what kind of site made it.

Go fix it Defer jQuery in WordPress → WordPress Core Web Vitals guide → Free website cache warmer →
Related signals JS framework → Ad networks on page → Analytics on page → Third-party categories → Chrome field data from 94,910 sites, representing millions of real page loads · How we measured