Multicolumn Category Widget
by Arno Welzel · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 4 other plugins · 28.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
This widget displays top level categories in multiple columns.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 83/100
Few reviews
Active installs
300+
≈350 estimated
Momentum
+23%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “category widget”, “categories widget” and “top level” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #13 and #14 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
83 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.6%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 19K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,187 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 3 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 79 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.2★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.11★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
53
Momentum
Holding steady
+0.4
Velocity
places per keyword, 21d
55%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 21d
+0.4
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| multicolumn | #2 | #6 | 0 |
| category widget | #4 | #16 | up 1 |
| top level | #14 | #24 | 0 |
| categories widget | #13 | #22 | up 1 |
| widget columns | #18 | #23 | down 2 |
| widget categories | #23 | #23 | up 1 |
| category posts widget | #23 | #24 | up 1 |
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 7 listed. 6 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “category widget”, “categories widget” and “top level” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #13 and #14 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 535 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v1.0.29 · 13 Aug 2026
30
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 7 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 129 languages, 4 at 90% or more
Plus 105 more locales with partial translations.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This widget displays top level categories in multiple columns."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 402 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 2 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-04-11 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-10 300+ → 400+ up after 10 days in tier
- 2026-03-31 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-30 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-29 400+ → 300+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-03-27 300+ → 400+ up after 10 days in tier
- 2026-03-17 400+ → 300+ down after 281 days in tier
- 2025-06-09 500+ → 400+ down after 2 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A - R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
- N NS Category Widget 1K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B
-
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Multicolumn Category Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/multicolumn-category-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Multicolumn Category Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Multicolumn Category Widget: 300+ active installs, 4.2★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/multicolumn-category-widget
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