CSS Columns vs Column Shortcodes

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

Health D41

Health D51

Active-install trajectory

CSS Columns moved down one install band, 60+ to 50+. That's a single step across the whole window, so there's no trajectory to draw. The download trend below moves daily.

Metric	CSS Columns	Column Shortcodes
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	50–60	60K–70K ✓
Install trend Change in active installs across the charted window.	-17%	0% ✓
Overall health	—	D · 51 ✓
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	3/100	3/100
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	—	93/100 ✓
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	—	70/100 ✓
Rating (weighted for review count)	—	4.7★ ✓
Reviews	0	134 ✓
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	35/100	54/100 ✓
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	High	Elevated ✓
Last updated	14.0y ago	4.1y ago ✓
Downloads · 30d	66	2.1K ✓
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	1.0%	6.6% ✓
Category	Uncategorized	Uncategorized

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

CSS ColumnsColumn Shortcodes

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.