The State of Web Vitals

Optimization plugins

Performance and optimization plugins detected on the page.

Field data PhoneDesktopAll Scope All sites Q1 2026 edition · Desktop 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 · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
2

The optimization plugins mix who uses what, and how stable each group is

Median CLS (sites using feature)
0
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
Wp rocket0.0429% of sites
Litespeed cache0.0326% of sites
Autoptimize0.0321% of sites
Wp fastest cache0.0312% of sites
Cloudflare apo0.039% of sites
W3 total cache0.032% of sites
Flyingpress0.041% of sites
Nitropack0.041% of sites
VariantShare of sitesMedian
Wp rocket
29%
0.04
Litespeed cache
26%
0.03
Autoptimize
21%
0.03
Wp fastest cache
12%
0.03
Cloudflare apo
9%
0.03
W3 total cache
2%
0.03
Flyingpress
1%
0.04
Nitropack
1%
0.04

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 · desktop 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?

The choice barely moves the CLS: 79% pass at best, 76% at worst. This signal does not separate passing sites from failing ones.

The split is bigger on LCP. With Wp fastest cache, 83% of sites pass it. With Cloudflare apo, 74% do.

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